RALEIGH, N.C. — Most of history’s great breakthroughs were made on days long forgotten.
But there is something about the image of Orville and Wilbur Wright on the windswept sands of Kitty Hawk, coaxing an awkward mechanical bird off the sand — and, with the shortest of flights, allowing humans the hope that they would not be forever confined to the ground.
It was 104 years ago today that the Wright Brothers achieved the world’s first powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft.
Today, officials with the Wright Brothers National Memorial expect 500 to 1,000 people to gather to remember an achievement that was at once humble and world-changing. They will listen to patriotic music and speeches. At 10:35 a.m. local time, the exact moment that the Wrights’ glider lifted from the ground, a dozen military aircraft will soar overhead.
McClatchy Newspapers
