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Interview With Tom Crouch

Aired December 17, 2003 - 14:3   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been talking quite a bit with Tom Crouch, one of the best biographers of the Wrights anyone knows around here, that's for sure. Author of "The Bishop's Boys." At the National Air and Space Museum is a curator.
Tom, first of all, let's put what we've seen so far today in some perspective. What they were hoping to do fly at that precise moment, was a rather audacious statement and hope, wasn't it?

TOM CROUCH, WRIGHTS' BIOGRAPHER: These folks -- yes. Because of course Wilbur and Orville came down determined just to do whatever it took and they were going to fly when they were ready to fly when they were ready to fly. So shooting for an exact date, like matching December 17, that's a tough one.

O'BRIEN: They might have been wise to say, We'll try to do it within this 4, 5, or 6 period, whenever the conditions are right...

CROUCH: As the Wright brothers did. You sort of fine-tune things and go you're ready.

O'BRIEN: You know there are still people today -- and it's not as loud of course as it was certainly in the years immediately after the accomplishment, but some who discredit the Wrights' accomplishment somewhat, say it wasn't really first in many respects. What's the final historical word on that?

CROUCH: Now, when you really look at this in the broadest context this is the first time that human beings achieved powered, controlled, sustained flight, heavier than air flight. There's just no question about it. Nobody else is even close.

O'BRIEN: All right. But there were so many people trying at that time and there were so many others who would -- who were shocked that bicyclemakers from Dayton could do it. Did that have something to do with it?

CROUCH: Well, and there was lots of confusion, too. People had bounced off the ground, for example, during the 19th century. But they couldn't sustain themselves in the air and sure couldn't control their machine.

Yes, I guess part of it was the fact that the Wrights were viewed as bicyclemakers from Dayton, Ohio. And of course, they were bicyclemakers from Dayton, Ohio, but a good deal more than that. These guys who had never spent a day in a college classroom, were just intuitive engineers of genius. What they did, to invent the airplane, of course, was to sort of invent a process for solving really difficult, technical problems. Just absolutely crystal clear analysts, just...

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this. In your book, you talk a little about how it was Wilbur who initially led this. Orville came along. And they became very much partners. I wonder if Wilbur had set out to do this on his own, would he have succeeded, do you think?

CROUCH: I don't think so. When it comes to the Wright brothers, the whole, literally, the Wright brothers is a lot greater than the sum of the part.

That's because these guys were so close. Not only were they brothers, but came from a really close family. And as they said, since they were very small boys, they had just shared everything. And they knew one another's hopes and aspirations, strengths weaknesses.

And they did compensate for one another, knew and trusted one another so well that that they could argue problems right down to the ground without being afraid of offending the other guy.

O'BRIEN: When it's your brother, you can speak honestly, right?

CROUCH: Right.

O'BRIEN: All right, Tom Crouch, author of "The Bishop's Boys" at the Air and Space Museum, thank you.

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 - 14:3   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been talking quite a bit with Tom Crouch, one of the best biographers of the Wrights anyone knows around here, that's for sure. Author of "The Bishop's Boys." At the National Air and Space Museum is a curator.
Tom, first of all, let's put what we've seen so far today in some perspective. What they were hoping to do fly at that precise moment, was a rather audacious statement and hope, wasn't it?

TOM CROUCH, WRIGHTS' BIOGRAPHER: These folks -- yes. Because of course Wilbur and Orville came down determined just to do whatever it took and they were going to fly when they were ready to fly when they were ready to fly. So shooting for an exact date, like matching December 17, that's a tough one.

O'BRIEN: They might have been wise to say, We'll try to do it within this 4, 5, or 6 period, whenever the conditions are right...

CROUCH: As the Wright brothers did. You sort of fine-tune things and go you're ready.

O'BRIEN: You know there are still people today -- and it's not as loud of course as it was certainly in the years immediately after the accomplishment, but some who discredit the Wrights' accomplishment somewhat, say it wasn't really first in many respects. What's the final historical word on that?

CROUCH: Now, when you really look at this in the broadest context this is the first time that human beings achieved powered, controlled, sustained flight, heavier than air flight. There's just no question about it. Nobody else is even close.

O'BRIEN: All right. But there were so many people trying at that time and there were so many others who would -- who were shocked that bicyclemakers from Dayton could do it. Did that have something to do with it?

CROUCH: Well, and there was lots of confusion, too. People had bounced off the ground, for example, during the 19th century. But they couldn't sustain themselves in the air and sure couldn't control their machine.

Yes, I guess part of it was the fact that the Wrights were viewed as bicyclemakers from Dayton, Ohio. And of course, they were bicyclemakers from Dayton, Ohio, but a good deal more than that. These guys who had never spent a day in a college classroom, were just intuitive engineers of genius. What they did, to invent the airplane, of course, was to sort of invent a process for solving really difficult, technical problems. Just absolutely crystal clear analysts, just...

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this. In your book, you talk a little about how it was Wilbur who initially led this. Orville came along. And they became very much partners. I wonder if Wilbur had set out to do this on his own, would he have succeeded, do you think?

CROUCH: I don't think so. When it comes to the Wright brothers, the whole, literally, the Wright brothers is a lot greater than the sum of the part.

That's because these guys were so close. Not only were they brothers, but came from a really close family. And as they said, since they were very small boys, they had just shared everything. And they knew one another's hopes and aspirations, strengths weaknesses.

And they did compensate for one another, knew and trusted one another so well that that they could argue problems right down to the ground without being afraid of offending the other guy.

O'BRIEN: When it's your brother, you can speak honestly, right?

CROUCH: Right.

O'BRIEN: All right, Tom Crouch, author of "The Bishop's Boys" at the Air and Space Museum, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com