Orville Wright

Learning the secret of flight from a bird was a good deal like learning the secret of magic from a magician.

If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.

In just six weeks from the time the design was started, we had the motor on the block testing its power.

The course of the flight up and down was exceedingly erratic, partly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in handling this machine. The control of the front rudder was difficult on account of its being balanced too near the center.

With all the knowledge and skill acquired in thousands of flights in the last ten years, I would hardly think today of making my first flight on a strange machine in a twenty-seven mile wind, even if I knew that the machine had already been flown and was safe.

With twelve horse power at our command, we considered that we could permit the weight of the machine with operator to rise to 750 or 800 pounds, and still have as much surplus power as we had originally allowed for in the first estimate of 550 pounds.

The airplane stays up because it doesn't have the time to fall.

If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.