Cobblestone articles from December 2003

Cobblestone archives from December 2003

Editor's note.(invention of flight)
December 1, 2003... What are the elements necessary to invent something? You might require a theory and a questioning mind. How about the patience to observe things or study what has been accomplished previously? Finally, you probably would need the strength of...

Taking off.(air traffic management)
December 1, 2003... Nowadays, airplanes are a common sight in the sky. And, almost everyone knows someone who has flown in a plane. The airline industry has become a big business, as people have discovered that it is much quicker to travel long distances by plane...

First flight.
December 1, 2003... People dreamed of flying thousands of years before the Wright brothers took flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These dreamers studied birds flying and imagined how humans might do the same--if only they had wings. Early inventors made...

An aid to aviation terms.(Glossary)
December 1, 2003... To keep you on course, here are the definitions for many of the technical, aviation-related words that appear in this issue. So keep steady your pitch, yaw, and roll, and you'll soar through with "flying" colors. A biplane is an airplane...

Pioneer of human flight.(Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley, inventor of the aircraft)
December 1, 2003... May 6, 1896: A hush came over the group that had gathered beside the Potomac River, just south of the nation's capital. Suddenly, they cheered as a small, unmanned aircraft took to the skies and flew for more than half a mile. The inventor...

Making history.(flights by Orville and Wilbur Wright)
December 1, 2003... With the flip of a coin on December 14, 1903, Wilbur Wright won the chance to go on the first voyage of the Flyer aircraft that he and his brother, Orville, had created and built. Unfortunately, the plane crashed. Three days later, however, it...

An interest in mechanics.(Orville and Wilbur Wright)
December 1, 2003... Most people do not realize that the Wright brothers--Orville, born 1871, and Wilbur, born 1867--performed various scientific experiments before inventing their aircraft. For as long as anyone in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, could remember,...

Finding your way around a plane.(Geographically Speaking)
December 1, 2003... AIRFOIL is the part of the wing whose shape affects such things as lift, control, thrust, and stability. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Racing grid.(International Aviation Tournament held in 1910)
December 1, 2003... In October 1910, the International Aviation Tournament at Belmont Park, New York, attracted contestants from America and Europe. A British aviator who attended--the author of this month's quote-already had won thousands of dollars in prize...

Did you know?(facts about flight)
December 1, 2003... Once the U.S. Postal Service determined it would employ planes to transport postal material in the 1920s, the mail made it from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast in 30 hours. The previous method--train--took 3 days. Although Wilbur...

Flying through the 1900s.
December 1, 2003... Editor's Note: This time line begins with the creation of Wilbur and Orville Wright's Flyer I in 1902. For a look at some of the talented individuals who came before the Wright brothers and fueled their ideas, see page 7. 1902 The Wright...

Pilots license #1.(how Glenn H. Curtiss influenced development of aircraft)
December 1, 2003... Neighbors in Hammondsport, New York, knew Glenn H. Curtiss as a tall, young bicycle racer who could fix just about anything. In 1901, he hitched a mail-order engine to a bike, creating an early motorcycle. Curtiss soon began designing and...

Women take flight.(women air pilots)
December 1, 2003... Why shouldn't we have some good American women air pilots?" asked Harriet Quimby. Although there were some other female pilots in 1910, such as Blanche Stuart Scott and Bessica Raiche, Quimby was the first American female to get her pilot's...

From Kitty Hawk to combat: the growth of an industry.
December 1, 2003... After their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers turned their attention to finding practical applications for their new flying machine. They believed that airplanes eventually would be useful for recreation and transportation....

Experiment with flying toys.
December 1, 2003... Most students know how to make a airplane. But how many realize that it is the design of this simple paper flyer that determines its flight pattern? Some paper aircrafts fly straight and smooth; others plunge in nosedives or spins and still...

Brain ticklers.(flight)
December 1, 2003... Give your brain a little tickle to see how well you read and understood this issue on early flight. If you believe the answer to be false, give yourself the ultimate test and see whether you can explain why it is false. Answers on page 43. ...

A final world.(about flight)
December 1, 2003... The next time you take a trip that requires air travel, think about all the centuries of work--by innovators who dreamed of human flight--it took to get you on that plane. Isn't it amazing to know that by studying birds, man figured out how to...

Bicycles, brothers, flights, and hills.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... How did they do it? Wilbur and Orville made the first flight. How did they think of this, two minds the same? We use planes today, but we don't really think how they were made or why they thought to make one. Airplanes realty help us to get...

Launching a Thought.(Letters)(Poem)
December 1, 2003... Launching a Thought The Wright brothers once owned a shop. Although it gave Orville some great pain, they hatched the thought for the first airplane. Orville launched off a forty-foot track, but...

Football.(Letters)(Poem)
December 1, 2003... Football The crash, the pops, the oohs, the aahs, the cheers, the fans, the boos, the raas. The concussions, the ambulance, the talks, the fights, the girls in the stands saying, "Those pants are so...

Gizmo and Lucky.(Letters)(Poem)
December 1, 2003... Gizmo and Lucky Gizmo pounces on Lucky. Lucky barks. Gizmo shows his teeth and hisses. Gizmo uses his paw to hit Lucky in the nose. Lucky barks as if he had something to say. Lucky chases, and the...

Insomnia.(Letters)(Poem)
December 1, 2003... Insomnia Time seems to disappear, as I lie in my bed, It's due to the number of thoughts that can't seem to escape from my head. Every night of every week, It gets harder for me to sleep. Am I...

Pine Trees.(Letters)(Poem)
December 1, 2003... Pine Trees Pine trees are stuby, with stiff bristles that cut like a knife. Pine trees sway in the wind like flags. There trunks are as hard as bricks. Jesse Haynes Coldwater, Ohio

Rainstrom.(Letters)(Poem)
December 1, 2003... Rainstorm The rain falls, wind clashes, thunder booms, lightning flashes, Now it is calm, and I am comfortable in bed. Mindy Russo Spanish Fort, Albama

Books to read.(Digging Deeper)(flight and aviation)(Bibliography)
December 1, 2003... There are many wonderful books available on the subject of the Wright brothers and aviation history. Here are some recent ones we recommend. Race for the Sky: The Kitty Hawk Diaries of Johnny Moore by Dan Gutman (New York: Simon &...

On the Web.(Digging Deeper)(web sites about flight)(Directory)
December 1, 2003... Like the books, there are quite a few Web sites that offer great information about aviation history. We recommend the following: www.wright-brothers.org/ takes you to the Web site of the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company and Museum of...

Places to visit.(Digging Deeper)(about flight)
December 1, 2003... Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. At this museum, you can see everything from a historic glider to a lunar module. A new exhibit, "The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age," displays the...

Tomboy of the Air: Daredevil Pilot Blanche Stuart Scott.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Julie Cummins (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001) tells the story of Blanche Stuart Scott, who set records and performed feats no one had ever attempted. Scott took up flying at the turn of the century and trained with prestigious...

From the archives.(other issues that examine inventions)(Bibliography)
December 1, 2003... Flight, explorations into space, and Other inventions have been the subjects of a number of Cobblestone Publishing's magazines. For more about various flight and space exploration issues, we recommend: The Wright Brothers and the Story of...

Cartoon connection.(Leonardo da Vinci's beliefs about flight)
December 1, 2003... "ONE YOU HAVE TASTED FLIGHT, YOU WILL WALK THE EARTH WITH YOUR EYES TURNED SKYWARDS..."--LEONARDO DE VINCI