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Perhaps the most influential brothers in history, Wilbur and Orville Wright’s creative and technological genius revolutionized transportation on planet Earth. Originally from Dayton, Ohio the two owned a bicycle repair shop and spent their spare time working towards a dream of creating a powered and controlled flying machine. Realizing that dream on December 17, 1903, modern aviation was born. Throwing open the doors for travel, communication, and international commerce, the world was reconfigured as a global community.

Wilbur Wright

Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867. From a young age, he exhibited a fascination with the mechanics of flight. In 1878, Wilbur’s dad Milton brought the brothers toy “helicopter” which the boys later pointed to as an event that sparked their interest in aeronautics. Largely self-taught, and certainly a genius, Wilbur’s keen observations of birds in flight supported his belief that powered flight would not be possible until methods had been developed to allow a pilot to properly control the craft. After the brothers achieved and were recognized for their amazing invention and achievement, Wilbur became a popular and celebrated speaker around the world, and keeping company with captains of industry and leaders of world governments. Sadly, Wilbur died in 1912 at the relatively young age of 45.

Orville Wright

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871. He dropped out of high school in 1889 to start a printing business, having designed and built a printing press with Wilbur’s help. He was a remarkable mechanic, exhibiting his skills as the brothers opened their bicycle shop and through all the many iterations of their flying machines. Although both brothers took turns at flying their planes, it was Orville who was at the helm of the Wright Flyer that took flight in December 1903. Orville was a skilled and courageous pilot, and he was nearly killed in 1908 when a propeller broke. Orville passed away in 1948 at the age of 76.

Wilbur

Wilbur Wright, Age 38

Orville

Orville Wright, Age 34

  • "The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air." - Orville Wright
  • "If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance." - Orville Wright
  • "The airplane stays up because it doesn’t have the time to fall." - Orville Wright
  • "More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost, if you can conceive of such a combination." - Wilbur Wright
  • "No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris …[because] no known motor can run at the requisite speed for four days without stopping." - Orville Wright
  • "Isn’t it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!" - Orville Wright
  • "If birds can glide for long periods of time, then… why can’t I?" - Orville Wright
  • "There is no sport equal to that which aviators enjoy while being carried through the air on great white wings." - Wilbur Wright
  • "We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate what ever aroused curiosity." - Orville Wright
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Case Studies

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    Android
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  • Delta
  • MAZDA
  • EY
  • Wells Fargo
    Wells Fargo
  • EY
    EY
  • ARROW ELECTRONICS

LICENSING INQUIRIES

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