Q 01/05

How did the Wright brothers decide who would pilot their first powered takeoff attempt in December 1903?

A) Drawing straws

B) Their father's decision

C) A coin toss

D) Oldest goes first

Answer · why

C) A coin toss

A coin toss: Wilbur won it, but he stalled just after takeoff on December 14, so Orville made the first successful flight three days later.

Q 02/05

Near which Outer Banks community did the Wright brothers make their first powered flights?

A) Ocracoke

B) Hatteras

C) Corolla

D) Kitty Hawk

Answer · why

D) Kitty Hawk

Kitty Hawk: the name stuck to the story, but the Wrights actually flew from dunes four miles south, at Kill Devil Hills.

Q 03/05

What business did the Wright brothers run in Dayton to fund their flight experiments?

A) A watch repair shop

B) A carriage works

C) A hardware store

D) A bicycle shop

Answer · why

D) A bicycle shop

A bicycle shop: years of building bikes, presses and motors there gave the brothers the mechanical skills their flying machines demanded.

Q 04/05

What breakthrough invention did the Wright brothers patent, rather than the airplane itself?

A) The propeller

B) A three-axis control system

C) The lightweight gasoline engine

D) The cambered wing

Answer · why

B) A three-axis control system

A three-axis control system: their patent claimed a way of controlling any flying machine, which let them demand royalties even from exhibition pilots...

Q 05/05

What was the profession of the Wrights' father, Milton?

A) Railroad engineer

B) Country doctor

C) Small-town lawyer

D) Clergyman and bishop

Answer · why

D) Clergyman and bishop

Clergyman and bishop: Milton Wright first moved the family to Dayton to edit his church's newspaper, and neighbours knew his sons as 'the bishop's kid...