The Wright Brothers | Controlling the Skies | 4
American History Tellers
Wondery
4.7 • 18.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Before the Wright Brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in December 1903, other air enthusiasts had tried to find the answer to powered, controlled human flight. And once Wilbur and Orville succeeded, many budding aviators flocked to the skies by building on their technology. Soon, despite their best efforts, the Wright Brothers would find it was nearly impossible to maintain a grip on the emerging aviation industry. Today, Lindsay is joined by historian and author Lawrence Goldstone. He’s the author of Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Picture this. You're transported back in time, witnessing history unfold right before your eyes, without any modern day interruptions. |
| 0:07.3 | That's the magic of Wondery Plus. |
| 0:09.2 | Immerse yourself in the stories that shaped our nation with ad-free episodes, early access to new seasons, and exclusive bonus content. |
| 0:16.1 | Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts and experience American history like never before. |
| 0:35.2 | Imagine it's April 16th, 1912. |
| 0:38.4 | It's a cool, foggy morning, and you're at the aerodrome outside Dover, England. |
| 0:43.1 | You're an American journalist and aviator, and today's the day you hope to make history |
| 0:47.0 | by becoming the first female pilot to fly across the English Channel. |
| 0:51.3 | Your beautiful 50-horsepower Blario monopling glistens in the morning mist as you |
| 0:55.8 | check the engine, running your hands along the taut fabric of the wing. You're wearing your purple silk |
| 1:01.1 | flying suit, which has become your trademark in the year since you became the first American woman |
| 1:05.6 | to receive a pilot's license. You scan the horizon and note that the weather isn't ideal. The fog will limit your |
| 1:11.7 | visibility over the channel and leave you without a way to navigate. Then as you turn to check |
| 1:16.8 | your propeller, you hear someone approaching and can tell from the quick footsteps that it's your |
| 1:21.0 | friend, the eager young German-British flyer Gustav Hamel. Oh, good morning, Harriet. You still mad at me? |
| 1:29.0 | You give him a withering look, |
| 1:34.0 | making it clear that he's not off the hook just yet. Only a few days ago, he flew across the channel with a female passenger. The newspapers gave her credit for being the first woman to cross |
| 1:39.3 | the channel by air. Of course I'm still mad at you. You stole my thunder. Two of my sponsors |
| 1:44.0 | have pulled their support. |
| 1:45.3 | You knew I was planning to be the first. But you will be the first. The other woman was just a passenger. |
| 1:50.6 | Well, the newspapers don't seem to care about that. I'm sorry, Harriet. I really am. But I still think |
| 1:56.0 | you'll make headlines. Though are you really planning to make your attempt today? Weather doesn't |
... |
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