We Were There at the First Airplane Flight

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Just 66 years after the first flight at Kitty Hawk, a Saturn V rocket carried three American astronauts 240,000 miles to the moon!

Orville and Wilbur Wright invented the three-axis control, enabling pilots to steer aircraft well enough to maintain balance for flight.  Though they began their journey as bicycle producers in Ohio, they became famous for the first sustained human flight….which only lasted twelve seconds!

That flight was piloted by Orville on December 17, 1903, and went a total of 120 feet in 12 seconds at a speed of 6.8 mph.  Three more flights followed before they called it a day.  The newspapers barely gave the event any notice, stating that twelve minutes would have been considerably more impressive than twelve seconds…

Principles of Flight

The unique shape of an airplane wing is designed to have air moving faster over the top of the wing…this creates higher pressure under the wing than over it.  That higher pressure lifts the plane up.  Using the throttle, the pilot can increase or decrease power to the engine, making the plane go faster or slower.

Planes can roll, pitch, and yaw – these are all just fancy names for the way that the plane moves. 

• A roll is moving left or right, and is done when one aileron is lowered while the other is lifted. 
• A pitch is when the plane climbs or descends.  The pilot raises the elevators to go up, and lowers them to go down.
• A yaw is when the plane turns side to side.  The rudder and aileron are used to turn, and the nose goes in the same direction as the rudder.

Our spine read for this unit is We Were There at the First Airplane Flight

Access the complete unit in the 'We Were There' Novel Studies Bundle!

Includes THIRTY-SIX unit studies covering World & American History. Each unit addresses a new topic, spanning the the ancient world through post-WW2.  Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand.

• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.

These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together. Our family has used unit studies as curriculum for many years, and we hope that your family will enjoy these, too!

Product Samples:

• We Were There with Richard the Lionhearted in the Crusades
• We Were There with Byrd at the South Pole
• We Were There at the Opening of the Atomic Era