How to define an airplane:
"A weight-carrying structure for navigation of the air that is supported either by its own buoyancy or by the dynamic action of the air against its surfaces."
-Websters
"A device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air.
-FAA
The Airplane
The Wright brothers watched birds for days and days, then they figured out how to create an airplane. Their studies showed them that there are at least two types of planes; the glider and the airplane. They decided to make an engine now called the "piston engine". This engine contains a crank system that ignites a spark in the engine which causes the propeller blade to turn. The now called "trust mechanism" holds the propeller blade in place and it causes the propeller to turn in a fast pace. The propeller was angled to catch the air and shoot it towards the plane. The propeller creates thrust and the wings and elevators create the lift. This causes the plane to lift off the ground and thrust forward.
The brothers just needed to work on one thing; turning. They needed a way to use their wings to turn. However, they never completed this task. They mostly used their weight to turn slightly. Today, we use "ailerons" on both sides of the airplane to turn. They are small flaps on the wings to turn either right or left.
"I found the control of the front rudder quite difficult," Orville Wright said. What they thought was easy on paper, they quickly figured out that flying was quite difficult. The brothers found a few problems such as the uncontrollable wind. The wind was blowing at about 20-25 miles per hour from the north. This caused the plane to get a little off coarse, but it did help the propeller to blow slightly faster. Even though they had a few problems, in the end the flight was successful.