FIRST FLIGHT.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 21 December 1925, Page 9

FIRST FLIGHT.

ORVILLE WRIGHT'S STORY. By Cable —Press Association—Copyright Australian and N.Z. Cable Association NEW YORK, December 18. A telegram from Dayton (Ohio), says that Messrs Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first airplane flight at Kittyliawk (North Carolina) 22 years ago to-day, lasting 59 seconds. Mr Orville Wright, commenting thereon, said: “YVe learned a great deal in that first flight. We figured that a straight flight at six or seven feet would: show us the strength of our machine, and at the same time be the safest. Like most persons learning to drive an automobile, we over-con-trolled. Another thing we did not realise was that there were air currents "We felt every little bump on the ground. Sometimes the plane was many feet in the air, at others within niches of the ground. Really, the flight was almost equivalent to one m a roller coaster. The Government report, showed that it had been made in a 27-mile wind. The full significance of the airplane was not fox-seen by us at the ttme. We could forsee many of the things the plane has been! used for, but many ethers were beyond our comprehension. We expected it to do much more in a sporting wav. We realised that a successful plane would be h big war feature, as one alone would be worth thousands of cavalry in scouting work, but we could not dream ol' using them in great quantities, as was the ease in the late war. Our belief was that the plane, bringing the war scourge home to the heart, would prove a big peace factor. We realised that bombing in small ways would be possible, but not such a use as directing gunfire. photography, etc. We did not realise the possibilities in commercial work, or mail service, and the next decade will see developments more startling and important in both military and commercial aviation.”