The "automatic stabilizer" and angle of attack assessor: human factors contributions of the Wright brothers

The Wright brothers followed their invention of the first practical airplane (1903) with a second epochal invention, the angle of attack sensor and aircraft stabilizer (1908). Both inventions were patented and details of each are contained in the respective patents for these two aeronautical advances. This paper emphasizes how the angle of attack sensor actuated an "automatic stabilizer." This approach decreased pilot workload, and variations of the Wright's invention are incorporated today in many types of aircraft.