NEXT ON NOVA: "Wright Brothers' Flying Machine"

NEXT ON NOVA: "Wright Brothers' Flying Machine"

http://www.pbs.org/nova/wright

Broadcast: December 16, 2003
(NOVA airs Tuesdays on PBS at 8 p.m. Check your local listings as
dates and times may vary.)

December 17, 2003, marks the centennial of the world's first powered
flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. To celebrate this milestone,
NOVA presents the definitive documentary on the invention of the
airplane. While many shows have retold the Wright brothers' personal
story, no program has properly explored the astonishing inventiveness
that they applied to the problem of powered flight. NOVA reveals the
popular image of the Wrights as amateur bicycle mechanics who
tinkered their way into the sky to be a myth. The program features
exhilarating footage of flights by exclusively commissioned replicas
that use the same original materials and the only existing Wright
engine for the frail craft that first propelled humans toward the
clouds. Watch as the triumph of powered flight comes alive once more.

Here's what you'll find on the companion Web site:

Interview and Article

The Unlikely Inventors
The Smithsonian's Tom Crouch explains why the Wright brothers
succeeded where so many others failed.

The First Reporter
Amazingly, the first accurate coverage of the Wrights' earliest
flights appeared in an obscure journal for beekeepers.

Interactives and Slide Show

Pilot the 1903 Flyer
In this clickable illustration of the first airplane, see how
the Wright brothers solved the problem of steering.

Getting Airborne and Wing Designs
See how a plane achieves enough lift to take off and how airfoil
shapes affect the way a plane flies.

Building Wright Replicas
View a collection of photos taken during the reconstruction of
original Wright brothers aircraft.

Resources

NOVA News Minutes
Watch a news clip related to the program (available 12/16)

Plus, a list of links and books, a teacher's guide, and the
program transcript

http://www.pbs.org/nova/wright