As the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight in a powered airplane is celebrated in 2003, it is important to recognize that like humans throughout time, the Wrights gazed skyward and imagined what it would be like to fly as birds do. It is also important to note that the Wright Brothers focused first on developing and building a glider before attempting powered flight. In the pursuit of this idea, the Wrights studied the flying techniques of birds. But it was not just any birds the Wrights studied; it was the raptors—hawks, eagles, and buzzards—that soared above the dunes at Kitty Hawk. These raptors, unlike other birds, flapped their wings only rarely, preferring instead to rely on rising currents of air to soar over the dunes. These soaring birds captured the Wright Brother’s imagination and fueled their creative drive to perfect their glider. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Wrights chose to focus on the complex concepts of control and lift of the glider for several years before addressing the challenge of adding an engine to their flying machine. What the Wrights recognized was that like the flying machine they were trying to create, raptors were able to find the perfect balance of elements—both physical and environmental—and turn them to their advantage to achieve flight and maintain altitude.

While it may seem effortless to those of us watching from the ground, the process of obtaining lift and soaring involves negotiating complicated and sometimes unpredictable elements. In order to gain altitude and soar, both raptors and sailplanes use rising currents of air called “lift”. The most common are known as thermals, ridge lift, and wave lift.