Episode 09: Flight Made Wright
The Story of the Wright Brothers
For the Wright Brothers, the time to show the world the heights of their brilliance came above a racetrack outside of Le Mans, France in August of 1908.
Thousands of spectators from Le Mans filled the stands carrying picnic baskets and amicably chatting as they waited to view history. Also present were dozens of reporters from the world press, members of the French Aero Club, and members of the French, Russian and British militaries.
McCullough picks up the story in The Wright Brothers: With dusk settling, Wilbur released the catapult trigger, the weight dropped, and down the rail and into the air he swept. Cheers went up as he sailed away toward a row of tall poplars, where, at what seemed the last minute, the left wing dropped sharply, he banked to the left, turned in a graceful curve, and came flying back to the grandstand.
Very near the point where he had started, he made another perfect turn to fly full circle once again, all at about 30 to 35 feet, before coming down to a gentle landing within 50 feet from where he had taken off. In all, he was in the air not quite 2 minutes and covered a distance of 2 miles.
McCullough writes: The crowd was ecstatic, cheering, shouting, hardly able to believe what they had seen. One French pilot who had been waiting all day told a reporter “I would have waited ten times as long to have seen what I have seen today.”
“We are children compared to the Wrights,” said another pilot.
Le Figaro, a national French newspaper wrote “the enthusiasm was indescribable. It was not merely a success, but a triumph...a decisive victory for aviation, the news of which will revolutionize scientific circles throughout the world.”
Even Wilbur lost his customary composure. McCullough writes: “overwhelmed by the success, he very calmly, his face beaming with a smile, put his hands in his pockets and walked off whistling.”
