It wasn’t until the turn of the nineteenth century that an English baronet from the gloomy moors of Yorkshire conceived a flying machine with fixed wings, a propulsion system, and movable control surfaces. This was the fundamental concept of the airplane.
Humankind’s desire to rule the skies has been the driving force behind one of history’s greatest adventures. In prehistoric times birds and dragonlike flying reptiles sailed through the air. When humans appeared on Earth, they watched and envied the birds flying in the sky.
The decade after the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903 witnessed a wide range of reactions to the new technology. Human flight was so significant and revolutionary a breakthrough that its influence went well beyond the aeronautical community.
As Wilbur Wright watched his brother Orville guide their flying machine into the air, the past and the future separated and the world started shrinking.
