3. Into the teeth of a December gale the speed of 10 miles an hour over the ground and 30 to 35 miles an hour through the air.
4. The height chosen was sufficient for maneuvering in so gusty a wind and with no previous acquaintance with the conduct of the machine and its controlling mechanisms.
5 .In attempting to bring the machine down to the desired height, the operator turned the rudder too far, and the machine turned downward more quickly than had been expected.
On the morning of December 17, 1903, between 10:30 a.m. and noon, four flights were made, two by Orville Wright and two by Wilbur Wright. The starts were all made from a point on the level sand about 200 feet west of our camp, which is located a quarter of a mile north of the Kill Devil sand hill, in Dare County, North Carolina.
The wind at the time of the flights had a velocity* of 27 miles an hour at 10
a.m., and 24 miles an hour at noon, as recorded by the anemometer* at the Kitty Hawk Weather Bureau Station.
The flights were directly against the wind. Each time the machine started from the level ground by its own power alone with no assistance from gravity or any other source whatever.
After a run of about 40 feet along a monorail* track, which held the machine 8 inches (20 centimeters) from the ground, it rose from the track and under the direction of the operator climbed upward on an inclined course till a height of 8 or 10 feet from the ground was reached, after which the course was kept as near horizontal as the wind gusts and the limited skill of the operator would permit.
Into the teeth of a December gale the speed of 10 miles an hour over the ground and 30 to 35 miles an hour through the air.
It had previously been decided that for reasons of personal safety these first trials should be made as close to the ground as possible. The height chosen was sufficient for maneuvering* in so gusty a wind and with no previous acquaintance with the conduct of the machine and its controlling mechanisms. Consequently the first flight was short.
The succeeding flights rapidly increased in length and at the fourth trial a flight of 59 seconds was made, in which time the machine flew a little more than half a mile through the air and a distance of 852 feet over the ground.
The landing was due to a slight error of judgment on the part of the aviator. After passing over a little hummock* of sand, in attempting to bring the machine down to the desired height, the operator turned the rudder* too far, and the machine turned downward more quickly than had been expected. The reverse movement of the rudder was a fraction of a second too late to prevent the machine from touching the ground and thus ending the flight.
As winter was already well set in, we should have postponed the trials to a more favorable season, but we were determined to know whether the machine possessed sufficient power to fly, sufficient strength to withstand the shocks of landings and sufficient capacity of control to make flight safe in boisterous* winds, as well as in calm air.
Exercise A Pre-listening Question Orville Wright (1871-1948), American aeronautical engineer, famous for his role in the first controlled, powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine and for his participation in the design of the aircraft\'s control system. Wright worked closely with his brother, Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), American aeronautical engineer, in designing and flying the Wright airplane.
During the years 1900, 1901, 1902, and 1903, the two brothers developed the first effective airplane. At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first successful flight of a piloted, heavier-than-air, self-propelled craft, called the Flyer. The third Flyer, which the Wrights
constructed in 1905, was the world\'s first fully practical airplane. It could bank, turn, circle, make figure eights, and remain in the air for as long as the fuel lasted, up to half an hour on occasion. Exercise B Sentence Dictation Directions: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times. Exercise C Detailed Listening Directions: Listen to the passage and answer the following questions.
1. Four flights were made on the morning of December 17, 1903, two by Orville Wright and two by Wilbur Wright.
2. The wind at the time of the flights had a velocity of 27 miles an hour at 10 a.m., and 24 miles an hour at noon, as recorded by the anemometer at the Kitty Hawk Weather Bureau Station.
3. Each time the machine started from the level ground by its own power alone with no assistance from gravity or any other source whatever.
4. The machine ran about 40 feet along a monorail track before it rose from the track.
5. These first trials should be made as close to the ground as possible for reasons of personal safety.
6. The machine flew a little more than half a mile through the air in 59 seconds at the fourth trial.
