Assignment 13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

Reading: The Wright Brothers, David McCullough

1)      After reading about the struggles and hardships the Wright brothers had to face before and after they invented the first plane, I found a new sense of respect for their perseverance. Despite constant failure, and people mocking them at every turn, they demonstrated the tenacity to keep moving forward no matter of how others perceived them. What surprised me the most through this reading was that Wilbur and Orville ran a bicycle business before inventing the first plane. They were able to apply their knowledge about locomotion and manufacturing from bicycles to planes. The thing I admired most about them was their determination. Despite many crashes and people viewing them as “nutters” they stuck to their goal and proved their doubters wrong. Sticking to your convictions is vital when you’re an entrepreneur, however, it can be difficult when you’ve had so many setbacks. The Wright brothers managed to do this and even beat out large entities backed by the government, such as the Smithsonian, to manufacture the first plane.

Something I least admired about the entrepreneurs is that Wilbur seemed to boss his younger brother Orville around at times. It was also Wilbur that gained fame and acclaim in France, while Orville was out on the outskirts for a while because he crashed a plane right outside Washington. Despite this, the brothers worked well together and made sure to share whatever successes they received. Throughout their journey, the Wright brothers encountered tremendous adversities. For example, many of their earlier models of planed crashed or failed to remain airborne for a substantial period of time. There were hundreds of attempts launched from Kitty Hawk, before flight was truly achieved. In addition, they sustained numerous injuries and didn’t have the support of the government, which backed larger institutions like the Smithsonian.

2)      Something I noticed about Wilbur and Orville throughout the book was their attention to detail and pursuit of knowledge. They spent countless hours observing birds and reading about aviation. They made several models and learned through their failures. Their ability to make adjustments, without being discouraged, was big in helping them achieve their goal. What they learned from their observation and careful analysis of birds was that when 1 wing rises, the other falls. This discovery was significant in making their aviation models a success.  After making this adjustment, Orville was able to take flight in Kitty Hawk, staying aloft despite going against the wind.

3)      One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the people of Dayton in the 1890s. The book mentions how parents viewed the bicycle as a tool of corruption because it would enable children to travel far from home and get into unnecessary trouble. This is confusing because biking is such a positive hobby people are often encouraged to take part in. However, during that time period I guess individuals were concerned about how a new invention may corrupt innocent youth.

4)      If I could ask one question to the Wright brothers it would be how did you manage to keep going after so much failure? I would ask this because hundreds of the earlier models crashed before they were able to invent the first plane. In addition to this, people considered them a joke but they were still able to persevere. I believe this tenacity is essential in entrepreneurship, so understanding how they managed to look past all the adversity and concentrate on their goal is something I would definitely want to learn. Another question I would ask is how did their post-aviation success differ? I would ask this because I know that Wilbur received fame almost immediately and began performing air-feats for kings in France, while Orville remained on the outskirts for a while. I’m intrigued to know how this effected them or if this changed their relationship in any way.

5)      I think both the Wright brothers valued hard-work. They understood that if they were going to accomplish their goal it wasn’t going to be easy or something they would get lucky with. They were going to have to work for it, even when their 100^th attempt failed. I agree with this value, you must continue to work hard despite setbacks if you ever want to achieve something great.