We should all be awe-inspired by the Wright brothers; the two
men from Dayton, Ohio who discovered the principles of
controlled flight. At that time, contemporary aviation pioneers
such as the German Otto Lilienthal were successful at gliding;
exchanging altitude for forward movement. The success of their
aircraft was literally dependent upon the whim of the wind,
which eventually cost Lilienthal his life. Because the control
issue seemed an insurmountable challenge, designers concentrated
on creating a stable platform with self-righting properties
similar to that of a sail boat. They firmly believed that
control features could be added successfully later; they did not
recognize the ability to control an aircraft’s attitude and
direction as an integral part of aircraft design. The Wright
brothers on the other hand, were not effaced by the inherently
instable nature of aircraft. From their experience as bicycle
makers, they assumed that stability would come from people
interacting with those machines. When peo