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On December 17, 1903, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio realized one of
humanity’s wildest dreams: For 12 seconds they were possessed of true flight.
Before the day ended, Orville and Wilbur Wright would keep their
wood-wire-and-cloth Flyer aloft for 59 seconds. Sober citizens knew that only
birds used wings to take to the air, so without being at the site, near Kitty
Hawk, N.C., or seeing this photo, few would have believed the Wrights’ story.
Although it had taken ages for humans to fly, once the brothers made their
breakthrough, the learning curve reached the heavens. Within 15 years of this
critical moment, nearly all the elements of the modern airplane had been
imagined, if not yet developed.
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