Episode 1017: Greatest American Inventions — The Airplane

Two bicycle mechanics from Ohio, with no college degrees and no government funding, beat every well-financed rival to achieve the impossible. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds over the dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina—and humanity's earthbound existence ended. Newt tells how Wilbur and Orville out-engineered the experts, building their own wind tunnel and testing over 200 wing shapes while a Smithsonian-backed rival failed twice with $50,000 in government money. Within a decade, aircraft reshaped war, travel, and commerce—proof that outsiders willing to do the work can rewrite the rules.

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