Wright Brothers Quotes

Greek myths are heroic, noble and tragic; but the American Dream is heroic, comical, and uplifting. Americans are a people in whom overweening ambition is rewarded, not punished. The Wright Brothers did not have their wings melt when they flew too high. Perhaps their wings were more soundly built than those of Icarus.

I was attacked the other night for being grandiose. I would just want you to note: Lincoln standing at Council Bluffs was grandiose. The Wright Brothers standing at Kitty Hawk were grandiose. John F. Kennedy was grandiose. I accept the charge that I am grandiose and that Americans are instinctively grandiose.

The Wright brothers committed themselves to do what no one else had ever done before. They took time to do their homework. They were humble and smart enough to appreciate and learn about the work of others who went before. And they tackled the problem line upon line, precept upon precept.

The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility.

When counting on learning from innovation, there are great successes but also failures. The Wright Brothers invented the aircraft and started an amazing process of innovation, where we now have planes that carry 500 passengers. Along the way there were some silly looking vehicles that crashed early on.

Picasso had nicknamed Georges Braque “Wilbur,” thereby becoming “Orville” in their Wright Brothers-like ambition to get painting off the ground of conventional representation.

If the Wright Brothers were alive today, Orville would have to lay off Wilbur.

I would rather people understand that there is a very, very fortunate American who was given the opportunity, and was in the right place at the right time to have the moment of a lifetime. My mother was born – her name was Marianne Moon. And she was born in 1903, the year that the Wright Brothers first flew.

The Wright brothers’ first flight was not reported in a single newspaper because every rookie reporter knew what could and couldn’t be done.

The reason why the Wright brothers were successful wasn’t because they had the most resources, but because they understood how invention works. You have to iterate quickly, and you should be prepared to fail. Because things often don’t go as planned.

The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses.

But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

It’s when things are going just right that you’d better be suspicious. There you are, fat as can be. The whole world is yours and you’re the answer to the Wright brothers’ prayers. You say to yourself, nothing can go wrong … all my trespasses are forgiven. Best you not believe it.

We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning of that first flight? The anticipation of Jonas Salk as he analyzed the data that demonstrated a way to prevent polio?

If the F.A.A. was around when the Wright Brothers were testing their aircraft, they would never have been able to make their first flight at Kitty Hawk.

If the Wright brother were alive today Wilbur would have to fire Orville to reduce costs.

There was a flight from Cleveland to New York City with just two people on board. There hasn’t been two people on an airplane since the Wright brothers.

If the Wright brothers hadn’t put their lives on the line, we would not be flying around the world these days. So we need pioneers.

The Wright brothers’ first flight was shorter than a Boeing 747’s wing span. We’ve just begun with heart transplants.

They say that most airline seats on planes today are meant for 170-pound passengers. The last time the average American weighed 170 pounds, the Wright Brothers were flying the plane.