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CNN Live At Daybreak
First Flight: 100th Anniversary
Aired December 17, 2003 - 06:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Twelve seconds. That's how long it took for the Wright Brothers to change the world forever. Now 100 years later, it is time to remember their accomplishments.
We get more from CNN's Eric Philips in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Wright Brothers' story could be called somewhat atypical, neither one of them had a lifelong dream to fly. In fact, Wilbur Wright planned to go to divinity school to become a minister. But that all changed when the two became fascinated with the idea that man could fly.
(voice-over): Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright opened a printing business and then a bicycle shop before the older of the two, Wilbur, was bitten by the aeronautical bug. It didn't take long for Orville to get onboard.
AMANDA WRIGHT LANE, GREAT GRANDNIECE OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: Uncle Wil was a very smart guy. Of the two of them, he was maybe the guy who did most of the theorizing. Uncle Orv was the kind of guy who could take an idea and make it into something concrete.
PHILIPS: In an effort to learn more about wind control, they began designing gliders in 1900 and testing them near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
PETER JAKAB, SMITHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM: It's the strong, steady winds and the soft sands for repeated glider trials were what they were looking for and Kitty Hawk supplied that.
PHILIPS: In 1903, the Wright Brothers developed the first heavier than air craft to successfully fly on its own power, simply called Flyer 1. It was flown four times on December 17 after much trial, error and problem solving.
For those who are here, many of them pilots, they are celebrating the Wright Brothers' tenacity as much as their scientific achievement.
KURT ROMMEL, PRIVATE PILOT: We hear it's going to blow 25 miles an hour, we say hey, it's too windy to fly. And here these fellows were out here in 30-mile-an-hour winds and 30-degree temperatures and sticking to it and making that first flight.
PHILIPS (on camera): Event organizers plan to fly the reproduction of Flyer 1 at exactly 10:35 a.m. Eastern. That's the time Orville Wright made the first successful flight 100 years ago.
In Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Eric Philips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 17, 2003 - 06:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Twelve seconds. That's how long it took for the Wright Brothers to change the world forever. Now 100 years later, it is time to remember their accomplishments.
We get more from CNN's Eric Philips in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Wright Brothers' story could be called somewhat atypical, neither one of them had a lifelong dream to fly. In fact, Wilbur Wright planned to go to divinity school to become a minister. But that all changed when the two became fascinated with the idea that man could fly.
(voice-over): Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright opened a printing business and then a bicycle shop before the older of the two, Wilbur, was bitten by the aeronautical bug. It didn't take long for Orville to get onboard.
AMANDA WRIGHT LANE, GREAT GRANDNIECE OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: Uncle Wil was a very smart guy. Of the two of them, he was maybe the guy who did most of the theorizing. Uncle Orv was the kind of guy who could take an idea and make it into something concrete.
PHILIPS: In an effort to learn more about wind control, they began designing gliders in 1900 and testing them near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
PETER JAKAB, SMITHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM: It's the strong, steady winds and the soft sands for repeated glider trials were what they were looking for and Kitty Hawk supplied that.
PHILIPS: In 1903, the Wright Brothers developed the first heavier than air craft to successfully fly on its own power, simply called Flyer 1. It was flown four times on December 17 after much trial, error and problem solving.
For those who are here, many of them pilots, they are celebrating the Wright Brothers' tenacity as much as their scientific achievement.
KURT ROMMEL, PRIVATE PILOT: We hear it's going to blow 25 miles an hour, we say hey, it's too windy to fly. And here these fellows were out here in 30-mile-an-hour winds and 30-degree temperatures and sticking to it and making that first flight.
PHILIPS (on camera): Event organizers plan to fly the reproduction of Flyer 1 at exactly 10:35 a.m. Eastern. That's the time Orville Wright made the first successful flight 100 years ago.
In Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Eric Philips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
