experiments made by the two brothers very clearly
Wilbur Wright has set down the beginnings of the practical
experiments made by the two brothers very clearly. “The
difficulties,” he says, “which obstruct the pathway to success
in flying machine construction are of three general classes:
(1) Those which relate to the construction of the sustaining
wings; (2) those which relate to the generation and application
of the power required to drive the machine through the air; (3)
those relating to the balancing and steering of the machine
after it is actually in flight. Of these difficulties two are
already to a certain extent solved. Men already know how to
construct wings, or aeroplanes, which, when driven through the
air at sufficient speed, will not only sustain the weight of the
wings themselves, but also that of the engine and the engineer
as well. Men also know how to build engines and” screws of
sufficient lightness and power to drive these planes at
sustaining speed. Inability to balance and steer still
confronts students of the flying problem, although nearly ten
years have passed (since Lilienthal”s success). When this one
feature has been worked out, the age of flying machines will
have arrived, for all other difficulties are of minor
importance.

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