Here's Orville in the world's first flight. Only 120 feet and twelve seconds, but later that day Wilbur and he flew much farther.

The Wrights weren't aircraft makers at first. They had a bicycle making business. Just as we ride bicycles today, they rode the steel steeds for fun and profit. But two byproducts of their work helped them with the airplane making business.

First, the profits from the bikes helped enable them to indulge in a serious hobby, such as airplane making. Of course, back then they had no intention of building a "certain looking" airplane. They were just very interested in the problem of flight.  

Second, the bicycle-riding balance they acquired helped them steady the gliders and subsequently the powered planes they built. It definitely assisted them in actual flight.

Here you see a top of the line product of the Wrights, the Van Cleve. Van Cleve is the name of a great-great grandmother of theirs. If you have a bicycle, did you know that you are doing your initial training as a flyer? Never thought of it that way, huh?

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