'In less than a minute, they changed the world'
Published: Mon, Dec. 17, 2007 12:00AM
Modified Mon, Dec. 17, 2007 05:50AM
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closeMost great breakthroughs were made on days long forgotten.
But there is something about the image of Orville and Wilbur Wright on the windswept sands of Kitty Hawk, coaxing an awkward mechanical bird off the sand -- and, with the shortest of flights, allowing humans the hope that they would not be forever confined to the ground.
It was 104 years ago today that the Wright brothers achieved the world's first powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft, and the anniversary will not be ignored.
THE BROTHERS
Historians say the Wright brothers, born four years apart, had the emotional and intellectual bond of twins. They lacked college degrees but shared a restless, vigorous intellect and became self-taught aeronautical engineers before there was such a profession. Wilbur, left, was the visionary. Orville was the tinkerer and inventor.
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Today, the Wright Brothers National Memorial expects 500 to 1,000 people to gather to remember an achievement that was at once humble and world-changing.
But it's not just the Wrights' achievement that keeps people coming to the Outer Banks every December, said Darrell Collins, the memorial's historian. After all, the automobile, the telephone and penicillin also shaped modern life.
Collins said it is the story of two brothers, working together with few resources other than their own hope and determination, that draws people to the memorial.
"In less than a minute," he said, "they changed the world."
THE FEAT
On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the world's first successful powered aircraft. It was a finicky machine made of wood, wire and fabric, designed and built by him and his brother Wilbur.
THE PLACE
Kitty Hawk was a remote Outer Banks community that drew Orville and Wilbur Wright because of its strong winds, soft sands and seclusion.
Takeoff time: 10:35 a.m. Time aloft: 12 seconds Flight distance: 120 feet Wind: 27 mph headwind
SECOND FLIGHT
Later that day, Wilbur Wright flew 852 feet in 59 seconds.
THE CONTROVERSY
Historians note disputed claims of earlier flights but credit the Wrights with the first sustained powered flight by a heavier-than-air craft. Since 1982, North Carolina has used an image of Orville Wright's historic hop on its license plate with a "First in Flight" logo at the top. The slogan rankles Ohioans, who also claim the brothers. The Wrights owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio.
(NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; NEWS & OBSERVER SPECIAL SECTION, "INTO THE WIND: COMMEMORATING 100 YEARS OF FLIGHT," PUBLISHED DEC. 10, 2003.)
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