Today, 121 Years Ago

[George K]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer

The Wright Flyer (also known as the Kitty Hawk,[3][4] Flyer I or the 1903 Flyer) made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903.[1] Invented and flown by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, it marked the beginning of the pioneer era of aviation.

[Jolly]

Only possible because of a huge advancement in producing aluminum.

[89th]

So in about 60 years we went from this to this:

Then 60 years later we went to this:

[Copper]

The first monument is the takeoff point.

The next 4 monuments show the landing point for the 4 flights that first day.

Very simple, but it is a neat place because you can stand there and see exactly where it all started. Every flight since that day has it's origin here.

A gust of wind flipped the plane after the 4th flight and wrecked it and it never flew again.

[taiwan_girl]

@Copper Very neat.

[George K]

It was years ago that I read a biography of the Wright brothers ("To Conquer The Air"). I don't remember much, but one of the highlights was how they realized that the ability to "twist" or "warp" the wing, much in the way a bird does, made flight attainable by controlling airflow over the wings. It led to the development of ailerons.

Another innovation was "three-axis" control - roll, pitch and yaw.