Wright, Orville
Along with his brother Wilbur, he invented, built, and flew the world's first successful airplane.
Most quoted
"The first successful flight was made on December 17, 1903. We were in the air for 12 seconds and flew 120 feet. It was the first time in the history of the world that a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started."
— from Official statement/letter, 1903
"The first flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started."
— from Letter to his father, December 17, 1903, 1903
"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their tedious travels across prairies and mountains and deserts, looked enviously at the birds soaring freely through space, at the swiftness of their flight, and at the ease with which they seemingly moved at will through the air."
— from Speech to the Aero Club of America, 1908
All quotes by Wright, Orville (384)
If we worked on the assumption that what is currently true will remain true, we would never make any progress.
The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their tedious travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously at the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, on the lightest wind, and wished they too had wings.
No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.
The airplane has been an enigma. It has been a toy, a sport, a weapon, a tool, a transport, a terror, a dream, a hope, a symbol, a science, an art, a mystery, a miracle.
It is not necessary to be a horse to be a jockey.
The machine itself has no value. Its value is in what it does.
We could hardly wait to get up in the morning.
The course of the experiment was not a straight one.
Success is not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall.
The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.
We were lucky enough to have been born at the right time.
The problem was not to make a machine that would fly, but to make one that would fly safely.
It was a great day for science.
The air, like the sea, is an element in which men can move, but not live.
The machine is a tool, not a master.
We had no idea that we were making history.
The greatest invention of all time is the airplane.
The human mind is capable of anything.
We did not have a lot of money, but we had a lot of ideas.
The future of aviation is in the hands of the young.
Contemporaries of Wright, Orville
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Orville (1871–1948).