One hundred years ago, today . . . Dec. 17, 1903 . . .
The morning dawned cold. A thin layer of ice covered the puddles of rainwater in the sand. The days were getting colder and the wind blowing from the north at a dangerous 20 to 27 miles per hour.
They were probably nervous. They were definitely cold, but for whatever reason, the moment grew somber. Both men had every reason to be confident they would succeed, but they were about to attempt the impossible and they knew it.
With the 20 mph wind blowing in their faces, Will had no trouble keeping up with the machine as it moved forward. He ran alongside for 10 or 15 steps, a hand on the strut to steady the machine as it gained speed.
After about 40 feet, Orville moved the control bar down, the forward rudder rose, and ever so slowly the machine lifted off the ground.
Flight.
Will stopped running and watched as the Flyer gently climbed into the air. In his excitement, he forgot to start the stopwatch in his hand. The cold wind whipped his jacket as he stood and watched the massive machine fly about 10 feet above the ground. The roaring of the propellers, the pounding engine and the steady wind filled his ears. For 12 long seconds he was transfixed. The dreamer, the experimenter, the businessman, the brother, stood in awe as his dream became a reality.
Flight.
"This flight lasted only 12 seconds," Orville said, "but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started."
Flight.
Around 5:30 that evening, Katherine was expected home from school any minute, and Bishop Wright was in his study when the boy from Western Union knocked on the door of 7 Hawthorne Street. In the transmission from Kitty Hawk, N.C., to Norfolk, Va., to Dayton, Ohio, telegraph workers made several mistakes, including misspelling Orvilleís name and the longest flight had two seconds shaved off from 59 to 57 seconds, but it was the message the family waited for.
Success four flights thursday morning
all against twenty one mile wind started from Level with engine power alone
average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform Press
home ### Christmas.
Orevelle Wright
How did they describe accomplishing the impossible?
Success.
They recognized precisely when they reached their goal after four and a half years of effort and they described it with one word. Success.
For the first time since the dawn of creation humanityís dream of flight was realized. The impossible was made possible. Two simple, hard working men accomplished the impossible with the right characteristics ? the Wright characteristics.
These characteristics are in you, waiting to help you realize your dream and accomplish the impossible.
They did the impossible and then pronounced it a success. The Wright brothers set a goal that nearly everyone one in the world considered impossible. They worked towards that goal tirelessly for nearly five years. And when they reached their goal: Success. Now itís your turn.
Soar to Success the Wright Way © 2003-2004 by Jim Meisner, Jr.
