Wilbur Wright

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Wilbur Wright

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¨ Why did you want to invent the airplane?

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QUESTION:
Why did you want to invent the airplane and why was the airplane needed back then?

ANSWER from Wilbur Wright on 26 October 2005:
It was a time when much of the world was surging forward, and America was no exception. A lot of people in my time wanted to have the latest and the best, and that meant a lot of people were trying to provide the latest and the best. My brother Orville and I had created some excellent bicycles and we thought we'd try our hand at something more advanced. When we started we didn't really think we'd figure out how to make an aeroplane because no one else ever had, but we thought it would be fun for us to try. Then, as we got closer and closer, we began to think maybe we COULD do it...

The aeroplane was needed for several reasons. The practical one was that it would open up new worlds of transportation, cargo moving, and so on. But the other reason was, it was a challenge, like going to the moon would be 60 years later; it fed the world's dreams.

NOTE: Steve Englehart, the author of Countdown to Flight! answers questions as Wilbur Wright, the elder of the Wright brothers. See Steve's interview at:
http://imagiverse.org/interviews/steveenglehart/steve_englehart_30_05_02.htm and read "Wilbur's" interview at:
http://imagiverse.org/interviews/wilburwright/wilbur_wright_18_01_04.htm

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Last Updated:
11 November 2005