Wilbur and Orville mounted the propellers to their flying machine and started the engine. And the propeller shafts broke.

The shafts were shipped back to the bicycle shop for repairs. They knew the broken equipment would delay their work, perhaps for as long as 10 days. This was the first setback of the season, but they didn't let it dampen their spirits.

They had reason to be pleased.

To date they had spent less than $1,000 on the Flyer, including the cost of transportation to and from Dayton. The machine was an efficient combination of store bought parts and materials, parts they made themselves and some parts they used in different and creative ways.

The chain that turned the propellers was not a converted bicycle chain, and was in fact a heavy-duty chain purchased to withstand the power of the engine. The brothers didn't mind spending money when necessary, but they also were able to solve construction challenges with creativity and efficiency.

The Flyer's starting rail was four 15-foot-long two-by-fours. The machine rested on a frame that moved along the track on two rollers made from modified bicycle wheel hubs. This starting system, completed 100 years ago yesterday, would allow the Flyer to gain enough speed on the ground to take off. The "junction railroad," as Orville dubbed it, cost around $4.

The frame of the Flyer was made from spruce, a strong wood that's flexible enough to be bent into different shapes and sizes. Spruce was a practical choice and a lot like the Wrights themselves: Resilient and able to bend when necessary but also very tough and able to withstand impacts, hard landings and crashes.

When your version of broken propeller shafts delays your plans, focus on your successes and don't let it bring you down. Be like the Wrights, and the spruce flying machine, flexible enough to soar but strong enough to absorb hard bumps.
Soar to Success The Wright Way
 

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Soar to Success the Wright Way © 2003-2004 by Jim Meisner, Jr.