01x03 - The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk

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For thousands of years,
man dreamed of flying.

The ancient Greek myth had
Icarus escape from prison

by making wings of feathers
held with beeswax.

About the time that Christopher
Columbus was discovering America,

Leonardo da Vinci was sketching
what he called his flying machine.

One hundred years later, in 1595,

Fausto Veranzio designed
the first parachute.

In 1709 in Brazil,

Bartolomeu de Gusmão
created his great bird design.

He was thrown into prison for
trying to defy the laws of gravity.

In 1781, Germany's Karl
Meerwin created a glider

so that he could fly like the birds.

He never did.

In 1783, two French brothers,
Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier

thrilled the world by flying
the world's first hot air balloon.

Just ten years later,

Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the first
manned balloon in the United States.

And in 1894,

Sir Hiram Maxim's triple-ton biplane

just barely got off the ground.

Finally, in the late 1800s in Germany,

Otto Lilienthal created
and flew his own gliders.

After Lilienthal died
in a crash in his glider,

his American disciple,
Octave Chanute,

flew his glider in America.

But by the dawn of the 20th century,

no man had been able to fly through the
air with a machine-powered aircraft.

In 1896, in Dayton, Ohio,

there were two brothers who
owned a prosperous bicycle shop.

They began to study the centuries-
long writings and sketches

of the men who had
attempted to fly before them.

Seven years later,
in December of 1903,

these brothers would risk their
lives to see if man could truly fly.

Only a few spectators
would witness this event

that would change
the world forever.

I thought the seven days on the train

and the two days on the
steam ferry were rough.

But this is the worst
part of the trip yet!

Wow!

Hang on, Charlie Brown!
It can't be too far!

It was very kind of your cousin
to invite us for Christmas, Linus!

Her father is a fisherman!

He also works at the Kitty
Hawk Life Saving Station!

We're the only family they
have in the whole world!

Well, this looks like we're on the
biggest beach in the whole world!

We seem to be slowing up!

Perhaps we're near!

Which one of you
is my cousin, Linus?

I'm Linus.

It's a pleasure to meet
you, Cousin Dolly.

And this is my best friend,
Charlie Brown.

How do you do, Mr. Brown?

It's nice to meet you both.

But are you feeling all right?

The buggy ride was a little hectic.

Yes, our driver is fast.

I hope he didn't upset you.

Well, he did get us here quickly.

And safe.

Then please, do come in.

Your room is all ready for you.

You couldn't have come
at a more exciting time.

Why is that, Cousin Dolly?

Have you ever heard of
the Wright brothers?

No, who are they?

They are two brothers who want
to be the first ones to ever fly.

Fly?

To fly, Mr. Brown.

They've been here at Kitty Hawk for
the past three years trying to fly.

Wow!

And they've invited some of us
to come and watch tomorrow.

That's great!

We love to watch!

You two seem to be very tired.

I think we all should
get to sleep early

so we can get up
early in the morning.

We'll have supper first.

Then I'll show you to your room.

How can a man fly, Linus?

I can't even get a
kite up into the air.

We'll find out tomorrow.

I hope it isn't too dangerous.

You mean they could get hurt?

I suppose so.

I guess we'll just
have to wait and see.

But what will people
do if they can fly, Linus?

I don't know, Charlie Brown.

Perhaps they can fly around
the world someday.

Wow!

Good night, Charlie Brown.

Good night, Linus.

We'll be leaving soon.

I've borrowed two bicycles
for you from our neighbors.

How far away are
the Wright brothers?

Oh, they're a few miles up the beach.

Why did they come all the way from
Ohio to work here in Kitty Hawk?

My father says it's
because of the beach.

It's a mile wide and 60 miles long.

He says it's good to try and fly here.

There are no trees,
just a few small hills,

and sand dunes as
far as you can see,

and good winds.

Here, I've kept a small diary of
what they've done here already.

They came here three years
ago in 1900 for the first time.

They lived in tents on the
beach and built a glider.

Two men, one of the Wright brothers
and Mr. Bill Tate from Kitty Hawk,

they flew the glider like a kite.

And the other brother would lie
down on the wing and guide it.

They were the first flyers
to use the prone position,

you know, lying down
flat on their stomach,

in order to cut down wind resistance.

When they came back in 1901, they
came back with even larger gliders.

But after some success,
they had many failures.

They went home very dejected.

They said that men would probably fly,
but not in their lifetime.

But back in Ohio, they didn't give up.

They did tests in wind tunnels
and improved their designs.

So they came back to
Kitty Hawk again last year.

They created a vertical tail,

better rudders,

and something called wing warping.

And they broke the
world record for gliding,

over 500 feet in the air.

Wow, they flew 500 feet?

My dad says they have come back with a
motor and something called a propeller.

My goodness, we'll be late. Let's go.

Do your drivers know they can come too?

Yes, we told them.

But they were busy practicing
something or other.

Well, I hope it's their driving.

It's turned quite cold.

See the ice on the ponds?

And that wind is cold, too.

Do you think they'll try
to fly in this weather?

I don't know, Mr. Brown.

My father says the Wright brothers
were always great tinkerers,

even as children.

What do you mean, tinkerers?

He says they were always
making things with their hands,

sleds and kites, eventually
even a new kind of bicycle.

Are you hurt, Mr. Brown?

Are you all right?

I... I think so.

What happened?

Oh, goodness!

Look at the front
wheel of your bicycle!

Good grief!

I wrecked the front wheel!

I ruined your neighbor's bicycle!

Say, you were just talking about the
Wright brothers and their bicycles.

Maybe they could fix it.

We could ask.

Come on, let's go!

We came to see the Wright Brothers.

Will they be flying today?

Sure they're going to fly.

And pretty soon, too.

Who are these kids
you brought, Dolly?

This is my cousin Linus and
his friend Charlie Brown.

They're spending
the holidays with us.

Hiya, fellas.

My name's Peppermint Patty,
and this is my friend Marcy.

I'm very pleased to meet you.

We had a small accident
with this bicycle here.

We hoped that the Wright Brothers
might be able to tell us how to fix it.

They're out measuring
the wind right now.

So far, it's been too
strong to risk a flight.

They might have some time later, sir.

We have a few minutes.

Come on, Chuck.
Let me show you around.

This is it!

ALL: Wow.

Look at that one.

Mr. Orville and Mr. Wilbur
call her the flyer.

This represents seven
years of work, Chuck.

Isn't she a beaut?

What's this?

They call this a motor
or an engine, Chuck.

It has the power of


And what's this?

They call that a propeller.

I think they're calling for us, sir.

Sorry, Chuck. Have to leave.
Hang around.

Look, Charlie Brown.
A kite.

This must be one of the kites
they used to test the wind here.

Boy, I sure wish I could
fly something like this.

Why don't you try it, Charlie Brown?

I'm sure they won't mind.

There's a nice, strong breeze
out there, Charlie Brown.

And not a kite-eating tree around.

Do you really think it
would be all right, Dolly?

I guess so.

Just be careful.

But I'm not very good at kite flying.

And besides, I'm kind of wor...

Oh, we can help you.

I'm sure you can do it.

Well, okay.

I'll give it a try.

This is your big chance,
Charlie Brown.

Let's not spoil this opportunity.

I'm shaking all over, Linus.

I don't think I can do this.

If the Wright brothers can
risk their lives flying a glider,

you shouldn't be nervous
about a simple little kite.

I guess you're right, Linus.

Okay.

You go hold it over there
and let go when I tell you.

Good luck, Charlie Brown.

All right, Linus.

Let her go.

It's starting to go up,
Charlie Brown.

Wow.

It looks like it'll fly.

You're doing great, Charlie Brown.

I can't believe it.

I'm actually flying a...

- Uh-oh.
- Uh-oh.

The wind just got a lot stronger.

Oh, no!

Linus!

I'm losing control!

Let out some string, Charlie Brown!

Let out some string, Mr. Brown!

Oh, no!

Don't lose the kite, Mr. Brown!

Let out some string!

Let out some more string!

Look out! Look out!
Be careful!

Oh!

Are you all right, young man?

I... I think so.

Oh, no!

What's wrong?

Oh, no!

I've ruined the kite!

What will the Wright
Brothers say about that?

Well, we'll soon find out.

My name is Orville.

This is Wilbur.

We're the Wright Brothers.

Good grief.

I'm sorry that I ruined your kite.

Don't worry about the kite, son.

It wasn't important.

I'm a total failure at flying kites.

Don't worry about
a little failure, son.

We've had failures most of our lives.

These are the folks I was
telling you about, sir.

Oh, so you're the children
with the busted bicycle.

Oh, yes.

I broke that, too.

Well, we don't have time
to fix your bicycle now,

but perhaps a little later.

See, we've been waiting all morning

for the wind to slow down
to 20 miles an hour.

But if you can fly in it,
I guess we can, too.

Now, it's after 10, Wilbur.

I think we better get started.

It doesn't seem to be
getting any less windy.

We're going to take the flyer
outside and roll it up the track.

You kids can all help if you wish.

ALL: You mean we can help?

Wow! That's great!

Oh, thanks!

Come on, Chuck.
You stick with me.

Let us show you what we have to do.

First, we have to lay out these
two-by-fours end-to-end.

This is the track, Chuck.

Now that the track is laid,
we put this small truck over it.

You see those skids
under the flyer there?

Well, we all need to help lift
the flyer up onto the small truck.

Now we'll start rolling the
plane to the starting point.

But there doesn't seem
to be enough track.

No problem, Mr. Linus.

As soon as the flyer
passes over one section,

we take that section
and let it up to the front.

Three days ago,
they tried their first flight.

What happened?

They tossed a coin to
see who would fly first.

Tails!

Mr. Wilbur won.

He crashed just after a few seconds.

Was he hurt?

Not too badly.

But the flyer was all banged up.

It took them three days until noon
yesterday just to patch it up.

But there wasn't enough
wind yesterday to fly.

I just heard Mr. Wilbur
say if they don't fly today,

they may have to call the
whole thing off until next year.

It's getting too cold this
time of year and too wet.

It's dangerous enough, even
when the conditions are perfect.

That's true.

They could really hurt themselves.

Especially if they crash
at a great height.

Well, it's your turn, Orville.

I hope this wind isn't too strong.

I guess this is it.

Seven years of work
all comes down to this.

Good luck!

See?

Mr. Orville puts his hips
in the padded cradle.

Look!

He's hooking his shoes
over the back of the wing.

What time is it, Cousin Dolly?

It's 10.35, Linus.

Why?

Because I have a feeling

this could be one of the most
exciting moments in history.

He's starting down the track!

Why is Mr. Wilbur running like that?

He has to hold the wing
to balance it on the track.

He's up!
He's doing it!

Flying!

Look at him go! Look!

- Wow!
- He's in the air!

It looks as if he's having
trouble with the rudder!

Oh, no!
He's going down!

He's hit the sand!

Are you all right?

Yes.

How long was I in the air?

In the excitement.
I forgot to clock you,

but it was at least 10 or 12 seconds.

Looks like we flew over a 100 feet!

Looks closer to 120 feet!

The skid's cracked.

Let's get it back to the shop.

We've got to work fast.

It's getting very cold, and we only
have a few hours to try again.

Mr. Wilbur has been up
for almost a minute!

That's another world record, sir.

And look how far he's gone!

He's going to crash!

You did the impossible!

You flew over 800 feet!

You were up for a full minute!

Yeah, but I turned the
rudder too quickly.

Look at it.
It's smashed!

That's going to take
some time to repair.

That reminds me.

We've got something else to repair.

Hmm.
That young man's bicycle.

There you are, son.

Your bicycle is as good as new.

Thank you very much, sir.

Thank you for letting us watch, sir.

It was a tremendous thrill.

We've written you a short
description of what happened today

as a sort of a memento.

Our flight today is the first
in the history of the world

in which a machine carrying a man

has raised itself by its own
power into the air in full flight,

has sailed forward without
reduction of speed,

and has landed at a point as
high as that from which it started.

Thank you!

Well, it was a pleasure
meeting all of you.

- Goodbye!
- Bye-bye!

It was a pleasure having
you with us, Cousin Linus.

Perhaps I can come
visit you sometime.

That would be wonderful!

Perhaps you can write
to me, Mr. Brown.

If you know it's good for you,
Chuck, you'll write me first.

If you have the time,
you could write me too, Charles.

You've got just a few minutes
to get to the steam ferry.

You'd better get going!

Mr. Orville took photographs
of their flights.