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 machine was a little temperamental, but we coaxed it into the air.
We were not trying to defy gravity, but to master it.
The machine was a little rough around the edges, but it got the job done.
I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for 50 years. Ever since I have distrusted myself and lived to see the error of my ways.
We could hardly wait to get up in the mornings.
The machine itself was a thing of beauty.
Success is not a matter of luck, but of hard work and perseverance.
We were very much pleased with the performance of the machine.
The course of the flight was a little to the right of the line of the track, and the landing was made on a little hummock.
I think we have solved the problem of human flight.
The first flight was short, but it was a real flight.
We have been working hard and have made good progress.
The machine behaved beautifully.
We are now confident that we can fly.
The wind was blowing about 20 miles an hour.
We have made a number of improvements to the machine.
The problem of flight is now solved.
We have learned a great deal from our experiments.
The machine is now much more stable and controllable.
We are looking forward to demonstrating our machine to the world.
Contemporaries of Wright, Orville
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Orville (1871–1948).