Wright Brothers’ Gliders Fail To Perform

[Photo: The 1901 glider was
such a disappointment that Wilbur almost gave up.]

Wilbur & Orville made their first test flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on the shores of the Atlantic where the strong winds helped to launch the gliders and the soft sands helped to cushion the fall when they crashed. Their first two gliders, flown in 1900 and 1901, failed to perform as the Wrights had hoped. The gliders did not provide enough lift nor were they fully controllable