Invent like the Wright Brothers

Innovation is critical to every aspect of your success. From designing the latest product to brainstorming on new ways to market, being creative and collaborative is the name of the game.

Orville and Wilbur Wright knew this better than anyone when they set out to make aviation history at the dawn of the 20^th century. As we celebrate their first sustained human flight today, let’s take a look at the brothers’ to see what we can learn.

Step 1: Research

Before jumping into building their airplane and making test flights, the brothers did a ton of research. Limited on materials and resources, it was vital for them to collect as much info on aerodynamics and previous attempted flights as possible. In the land before the Internet, the brothers wrote to the Smithsonian, other scientists and previous flyers about the technicalities of flight, attempting to learn what went wrong and why. In today’s world of shrinking budgets and time crunches, there is little room for error. While experimentation is great, wasted efforts due to lack of research is not.

Step 2: Hit the Ground Testing

After testing kites against the research data, the brothers decided to build a wind tunnel to get data of their own. Here, they tested over 200 wing and airfoil models to dial in the mechanics of flight. The 1902 aircraft was based on these tests. Countless engines were developed and continually tweaked to improve performance. These days, with digital mockups and virtual workspaces, it’s much easier to try literally thousands of ideas without spending too much time or resources. Thus, it’s essential now more than ever to really “beat up” an idea on the field and work out every kink. Today, perfection is expected all of the time.

Step 3: Revise and Regroup

After the first iconic flight, the brothers kept making improvements to their aircraft from 1903 to 1905. With careful analysis of every test, they were able to slowly improve their flight times, eventually taking passengers up for a ride. Even after the worst of failures, the brothers took whatever they could learn from each experiment, and successfully made the adjustments on the next one. In today’s fast-paced environment, you can never allow yourself to fall all the way down. Undoubtedly, we will stumble and run into obstacles while inventing, but it’s essential to keep the momentum and continue pushing forward until you reach what you set out to achieve.

Alas, Happy 1^st Manned Flight Day! While it’s always great to grab inspiration from the past, there is none like the present. Let us know how you innovate and push the envelope on the daily…