Turkey Vultures Inspired the Wright Brothers (November 18)

What bird did the Wright brothers copy in order to make an airplane? The turkey vulture. More than 100 years ago, Bible-believers Orville and Wilbur Wright spent years studying and working to produce the first motorized airplane. They began by observing birds in flight through their binoculars. One of the many things they noticed were birds changing the shape of their wings as they flew into the wind. The birds would curve the surface of their wings allowing the air to flow over the curved surface – creating lift. The Wright brothers’ first powered flight lasted 12 seconds and flew 120 feet. That same day, they flew several more times; the last flight was 59 seconds and covered 852 feet.

Since that cold, wind-swept December day on a beach in North Carolina in 1903, the airplane industry has worked hard to develop well-designed airplanes. Our best design ideas for airplanes have come from observing birds and how they fly. When we see an airplane, we know there must be an airplane designer. When we see a bird, we know there must be a bird designer, and that designer is God.

Proverbs 30:18-19

KJV: There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

NIV: There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman.

Reference

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