Existing comment:
Heavier-than-air Machine
At the end of the 1800s, several men experimented with heavier-than-air flight. In 1891, Samuel Langley built a steam-powered model of an aerodrome that flew for 3/4 of a mile. The Army contracted Langley for a full size version, but that venture ended in failure. After the Wright brothers flew a heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the Army challenged inventors to provide an aircraft that could carry two passengers, fly 40 miles an hour, and remain airborne for an hour. |