"We learn much by tribulation, and by adversity our hearts are made better."

"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their dim terrestrial captivity, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space…"

"Learning the secret of flight from a bird was a good deal like learning the secret of magic from a magician—something the magician won't tell, and the bird can't tell."

"The course of the experiment was not always smooth. The machine would start all right, but the propelling power was not sufficient to overcome the resistance of the air."

"The machine itself was a thing of beauty, a marvel of ingenuity and simplicity."