Did you ever have a new bicycle or a new wagon you wanted to try to ride? Or, did you build a go-cart or put an old bicycle back together? You want to ride it as soon as its ready. You ride carefully the first time. You want to make sure everything is working right.

There are many people who like to build their own airplanes. They want to try (test) them out as soon as they are finished, too. They have to be careful. An airplane can crash. You can be badly hurt or even die.

The Wright Brothers, a long time ago, were the first to successfully try out their own airplane. Since then, many new airplanes have been built and flown. Most airplanes are not built at home. They are built by scientists and engineers. They test them very carefully, so we will be safe.

Today we have many different kinds of airplanes. Jet planes, propeller airplanes, and helicopters. All of these had to be tried out to make sure they were safe.

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Last modified: Mon Mar 23 22:49:02 PDT 1998