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)
The difficulties which obstruct the pathway to success in flying machine construction are of three general classes...
It is a mistake to think of the airplane as just another means of transportation. It is more than that. It is a new dimension of freedom.
We had to learn how to balance the machine in the air as well as how to propel it.
The most important thing we had to discover was the means of controlling the machine after it was in the air.
We had to develop a system of three-axis control: roll, pitch, and yaw.
We were the first to understand that the pilot must have absolute control.
The problem of flight could not be solved by building a powerful engine alone. The key was control.
We spent a great deal of time observing birds in flight.
We were not the first to build a glider, but we were the first to build one that could be fully controlled.
The first flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was the most important 12 seconds in the history of transportation.
We could not trust the so-called experts. We had to find out for ourselves.
The dream of flight is as old as mankind itself.
We were not the first to dream of flying, but we were the first to make the dream a reality.
The airplane has made the world a smaller place.
We were not the first to attempt powered flight, but we were the first to achieve it with a practical machine.
The greatest challenge was not to get into the air, but to stay there under control.
We had to be our own scientists, engineers, and test pilots.
The secret of flight was not in the engine, but in the wings and the controls.
We were not the first to study aerodynamics, but we were the first to apply it correctly to a flying machine.
The airplane is the ultimate expression of human ingenuity and determination.
Contemporaries of Wright, Orville
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Orville (1871–1948).