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Photo 4: Engine similar to one built and used by the Wrights in their bicycle shop.

Photo 4 shows a replica of the engine the Wrights designed and built to power the tools in their bicycle shop. This engine was coal gas-powered, much in the same way that an automobile's engine of today is powered by gasoline. The engine turned the belt seen, and it then turned a whole series of belts, which thereby provided the energy to operate all of the tools in the shop.

Questions for Photo 4

1. What might be some reasons the Wrights designed an engine to power their tools?

2. How might developing this engine help them invent the first airplane with controlled powered flight?

* The photo on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a larger version of Photo 4, but be aware that the file will take as much as 30 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.