The decade after the Wright brothers
flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903 witnessed a wide range of reactions to the
new technology. Human flight was so significant and revolutionary a breakthrough
that its influence went well beyond the aeronautical community.
The airplane had meaning for everyone—from popular
enthusiasm for the pilots and their aerial exhibitions, to the commercial
and military potential of aviation, to the broad cultural implications
of flight, to the artistic expression it inspired.
The impact of the airplane on the 20th century is beyond
measure. The Wrights not only solved a long-studied technical problem,
but also helped create an entirely new world. Speculation on what that
world would be like began with our first tentative leaps into the air.
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