Today we hardly notice jets streaking through the sky. We pass by airports without giving the miracle of flight a second thought.
For most people, flying is simply the fastest, easiest, and sometimes the cheapest way to travel. But just over 100 years ago, anybody who talked about humans flying in machines was thought to be not just odd, but crazy. Most people thought flying machines were fantasy or, at best, inventions for the distant future—but not Orville and Wilbur Wright. The two bicycle-maker brothers from Dayton, Ohio, were practical dreamers. They believed they could build a flying machine that would work. But they also knew it wouldn’t be easy. They believed in themselves, refused to let their upsets get them down, and learned from their mistakes. They were a great team, and they succeeded where all before them had failed.