Wright Brothers Patent Cases and Influence on Aviation - Term Paper Example

Wright Brothers Patent Cases and Influence on Aviation Wright Brothers Patent Cases and Influence on Aviation Introduction The Wright brothers’ patent cases concerns two American brothers who were the pioneers and inventors in the aviation industry. The two are acknowledged for creating and constructing the first ever airplane, which was controlled and powered by a heavier machine. This was way back in 1903 and two years later they created the aircraft which was the first empirically done-wing aircraft. Even though they might not be considered the first to develop a flying experimental airplane, they are credited for being the pioneers in inventing an aircraft that could be controlled with a fixed wing energized aircraft (John, 2004). Their essential success was in the construction of the three-axis control that helped the pilot to maneuver the airplane successfully and to sustain the balance it needed. This mechanism came to be the norm and is still the benchmark on fixed wing airplane of all types (John, 2004). From the start of their aviation creativity, the two brothers put their efforts into solving the puzzle of flying. Besides, they made attempts to patent their invention to prevent imitators who would outdo them in the long-run. From their invention, there was a great influence on the aviation industry that brought about the current modern airplanes. Some of the influences have been discussed in the preceding discussion. The Influence of Wright Brothers Invention on Aviation Industry The Wright Brothers’ patent case led to their recognition in 2003 as the most important contributors across the United States and globally to the invention of aircraft. Their recognition saw the renewal of the first-aircraft and reflection of the developments that have occurred in the aviation industry over the century (Parish, 2004). The progress made in aeronautical engineering by the Wright Brothers affected the timings of their triumphant inventions which were very critical in the development of aircrafts. The technology was also used by the military and politicians which led to the modern world aviation industry. Besides, their patent cases and their inventions was instrumental in the putting a liberty to the humanity in accordance with the earthly bonds. However, some authors argue that the Wright Patent cases had a very retrogressive impact on the American aviation during the early nineteenth century (Parish, 2004). However, the precedents set in these cases perceived in the context of the disparity in the opinions of the military amongst the different aircrafts producer; it seems valuable to the current time period. The connection between the training pilots and the producing firms was to a large extent solidified by the social relations. The Wright Brothers’ patent case was complicated by the various technological details which involved use of diagrams that necessitated the readers and users to see the finer details under its description. The main details were well understood by the users. Fundamentally, the patent cases placed the American aviation industry on a slow growth. The American aviation had all the rights to be first ones to invent a flying machine. This was not possible under the Wright Brothers’ patent tactic. This eventually impeded the growth of the aviation industry in America. Turning the attention to the United States military aviation, the Wright brothers’ patent case had significant influence on aspects such as politics, technology, culture and the entire organization where their evolution was stunted immensely. Lack of funding by the federal government was another drawback to the military aviation owing to the patent cases which disrupted the civilian opinion on the aeronautic constituency. The various ligation cases by the Wright Brothers disrupted the development of technology in the American aviation industry and reduced the pace of the manufacturing capacity of the American aviation industry. Even though the experience of war assisted in the solution of these problems, the determination of other participants placed the aftermath of war under doubtful and turbulent future. If the cases were resolved in a timely manner, the American aviation industry would be the best globally in terms of technological advancement (Parish, 2004). The Wrights brothers had a desire to be recognized for their invention of the first flights and they were eager to sell their invention to the United States government. Moreover, there was a high need to protect their secrets, raising the need to patent their ideas and invention. This was the greatest dilemma the two brothers faced with regard to their consequent patent and the protection of their ideas. However, the Wrights’ invention which was brought out through the patent cases triggered a sense of competition from within the country and in foreign countries as a lot of interest was drawn to the construction of commercial aircrafts. In particular, France which had conducted several tests to invent an aircraft took the opportunity to explore more research on construction of aircrafts. This was contrary to the Wrights intention to have their engineering secrets remaining unexploited by the competitors for a long time, approximately ten year. The Wright Brothers efforts and ingenuity remained protected for time due to the patent case. In spite of not getting enough media attention, the patent case was a real boost to their invention. This led to the discovery that their ideas would be needed in other countries that had desired to make a breakthrough in the aviation industry (Parish, 2004). The French government was in desperate need to be the first to fly a heavy powered airplane on top of being the first to fly a balloon. With the issues of the Wright Brothers’ patent , their mission seemed impossible given the fact that Americans seemed to be on the forefront. Majority of the bigot Frenchmen had a notion that the Wright brothers were liars as opposed to their claims of being flyers. Several experiments were established and financed by the French in an effort to have the first powered aircraft. As mentioned earlier, competition in the aviation industry became so intense between France and America. The telephone inventor, Alexander Graham Bell established an Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) afterwards whose main objective was to get into air. Four young brilliant men were recruited that led to the creation of the four quick series of four airplanes. The four airplanes were eventually patented in pursuit of the Wright Brother’s strategy. Following this development, the Wight brothers believed that their patent had been violated by the AEA (Malcolm & Larrabee, 2010). There were expectations by the AEA of a possible conflict on the patents which led them to manipulate their invention by replacing Bell’s proposition of ailerons with wing-warping. This ignited a serious protest by the Wright brothers which resulted in several litigations. In every judgment the Wright brothers patent was upheld, further derailing developments in the aviation industry. The media attention, news and the legal battles attracted other foreign nations into developing curiosity in the airplanes manufacturing industry. By the outset of the First World War, all the major European powers had established their air force by relying on the information acquired from the Wright brothers patent cases. Germany and Russia had approximately 250 aircrafts while the Great Britain had about 180 aircrafts and France had manufactured approximately 140 airplanes in readiness for the war (Malcolm & Larrabee, 2010). The Wright Brother’s patent case brought about a leap in the technological advancement globally. An effort that was exerted in approximately twenty years was compressed into about four years of competitive war in areas such as training and efficiency control, engineering and manufacturing which led to improved performance in all sectors of the economy on a global perspective. There was an increase in the speed of the airplanes which was attributed to the robust machines and engines that were manufactured. Before the onset of the First World War the airplanes could not be loaded with heavy bomb shells but after the war, airplanes were created which could carry heavy bombs over long distances. The conflict over the patents was soon lost as the technological advancement became more rampant in the world as different kinds of aircrafts were invented and manufactured leading to the modern state technology in the aviation industry. What became to be known as the greatest innovation by the Wright brothers fostered the invention of the requirements which were to be met under the aviation industry (Malcolm & Larrabee, 2010). The end of the First World War also saw advancements in electronics and computer innovation as well as significant progress of other sectors such as agriculture. From the discussion above it is fundamental to note that the Wright Brothers patent case received extensive media attention as opposed to their real invention. At first the media and other countries such France termed the Wright Brothers as liars as opposed to flyers but the processes of litigation on the patenting of their ideas brought about a turnaround of the aviation industry. Despite the rejection of their invention and the subsequent litigations, the American government had their aviation industry largely affected. There was slowed growth in the military aviation because of the patent case in the United States of America. The patent case brought about competition that was fundamental in the process of advancing technology and the general aviation industry. The Wright brothers’ patent case had a great influence to the aviation industry to the present time period. References Abzug, M. J. and Eugene, L. (2010). Airplane Stability and control, 2 Ed: A History of the Technologies that made Aviation Possible. Cambridge.org. Anderson, J. (2004). Inventing Flight: The Wright Brothers and Their Predecessors. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press. Christopher Parrish. (2004). Review of Johnson, Herbert A. Wingless Eagle: U.S. Army Aviation through World War I. H-War, H-Net Reviews. Read More