Best Wright Brothers Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“What will make you great today will never make you great tomorrow! The airplane that Wilbur and Orville Wright invented in 1906 would be seen as a scrap today. It becomes valueless with time.”

“In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important to emphasize the qualities in their pioneering life and the character in man that such a life produced. The Wright Brothers balanced success with modesty, science with simplicity. At Kitty Hawk their intellects and senses worked in mutual support. They represented man in balance, and from that balance came wings to lift a world.”

Life Science Honor Wright Brothers Pioneer Wilbur Wright Orville Wright Kitty Hawk

Author:Charles A. Lindbergh

“The man who wishes to keep at the problem long enough to really learn anything positively must not take dangerous risks. Carelessness and overconfidence ate usually more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks.”

Flight Wright Brothers Wilbur Wright

Book:The Wright Brothers

Source: The Wright Brothers

“Only nine years before the Wright brothers’ famous first flight, Hargrave lifted himself 4.9 metres (16 feet) off the ground in a swing attached to a series of connected box kites that he designed. When a drawing of this momentous feat was circulated in newspapers around the globe, the starting gun was fired and the race for powered flight began in earnest!”

Race Drawing Newspapers Flight Wright Brothers Box Kites Hargrave Lawrence Hargrave Powered Flight Starting Gun

Book:CopyCat: How to Escape Status Quo Thinking and Lead the Field

Source: CopyCat: How to Escape Status Quo Thinking and Lead the Field

“There was a wonderful little short four-year time period when marvelous things happened. It started in 1908, when the Wright brothers flew in Paris, and everybody said, 'Ooh, hey, I can do that.' There's only a few people that have flown in early 1908. In four years, 39 countries had hundreds of airplanes, thousands of pilots.”

“There was a flight from Cleveland to New York City with just two people on board. There hasn't been two people on an airplane since the Wright brothers.”

People Two Cities New York Brother Flight Boards New York City Airplane Cleveland Wright Brothers

Author:David Letterman

“When counting on learning from innovation, there are great successes but also failures. The Wright Brothers invented the aircraft and started an amazing process of innovation, where we now have planes that carry 500 passengers. Along the way there were some silly looking vehicles that crashed early on.”

Way Process Brother Innovation Silly Planes Vehicle Counting Passengers Great Success Aircraft Wright Brothers

Author:Sheldon Whitehouse

“America, in the eyes of the world, typifies above all else this quality of initiative. The greatest successes are nearly all the fruit of initiative. Why do we hold in such high esteem the achievements of the Wright brothers? Because they were illustrious examples of initiative and tenacity. And ideas are born of initiative, the children of men and women of initiative. Advancement is applied initiative. Don't imitate. Initiate.”

“I would rather people understand that there is a very, very fortunate American who was given the opportunity, and was in the right place at the right time to have the moment of a lifetime. My mother was born - her name was Marianne Moon. And she was born in 1903, the year that the Wright Brothers first flew.”

People Years Firsts Moments Mother Opportunity Names Given Born Brother Moon Lifetime Fortunate Right Time Right Place Flew Wright Brothers

Author:Buzz Aldrin

“The Wright brothers' first flight was not reported in a single newspaper because every rookie reporter knew what could and couldn't be done.”

Firsts Done Brother Newspapers Flight Reporters Rookies Wright Brothers

Author:Edward R. Murrow

“Picasso had nicknamed Georges Braque "Wilbur," thereby becoming "Orville" in their Wright Brothers-like ambition to get painting off the ground of conventional representation.”

Painting Brother Becoming Ambition Conventional Representation Wright Brothers

Author:Peter Schjeldahl

“In 1903 the Wright brothers invented airplanes, because in 1902 they took a road trip across the country with their family.”

Country Brother Airplane Road Trip Wright Brothers

Author:Bill Engvall

“The Wright brothers' first flight was shorter than a Boeing 747's wing span. We've just begun with heart transplants.”

Firsts Heart Brother Wings Flight Boeing Transplants Wright Brothers Heart Transplant Boeing 747

Author:C. Walton Lillehei

“I love visiting the Air and Space Museum. It always blows my mind how far we've come from the Wright Brothers in 1906 to modern space travel.”

Mind Space Air Modern Brother Blow Museums Visiting Space Travel Wright Brothers How Far We've Come

Author:Ryan Merchant

“America is an enormous country with enormous resources. The basic American spirit creates the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford and Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Once we start rolling, we're pretty formidable. And the incompetence of the government is so massive that even a moderately good executive could regain much ground pretty rapidly. Donald Trump is a very good executive.”

Country Government America Spirit Brother Trump Resources Mark Bills Very Good Enormous Executives Massive Gates Rolling Incompetence Formidable American Spirit Zuckerberg Wright Brothers

Author:Newt Gingrich

“The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility.”

Motivational Impossible Possibility Brother Achievement Determination Screens Smoke Impossibility Flew Possible And Impossible Wright Brothers

Author:Charles Kettering

“But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.”

“Tell him solitude is creative if he is strong and the final decisions are made in silent rooms. Tell him to be different from other people if it comes natural and easy being different. Let him have lazy days seeking his deeper motives. Let him seek deep for where he is a born natural. Then he may understand Shakespeare and the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov, Michael Faraday and free imaginations Bringing changes into a world resenting change. He will be lonely enough to have time for the work he knows as his own.”

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“There's a historical milestone in the fact that our Apollo 11 landing on the moon took place a mere 66 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight.”

Years Firsts Facts Brother Moon Historical Mere Flight Apollo Landing Milestone Wright Brothers Apollo 11

Book:Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration

Source: Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration

“Greek myths are heroic, noble and tragic; but the American Dream is heroic, comical, and uplifting. Americans are a people in whom overweening ambition is rewarded, not punished. The Wright Brothers did not have their wings melt when they flew too high. Perhaps their wings were more soundly built than those of Icarus.”

People Dream Brother Ambition Built Wings Myth Noble Uplifting Greek Tragic Heroic American Dream Flew Comical Icarus Greek Myth Wright Brothers

Author:John C. Wright

“In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important to emphasize the qualities in their pioneering life and the character in man that such a life produced. The Wright Brothers balanced sucess with modesty, science with simplicity. At Kitty Hawk their intellects and senses worked in mutual support. They represented man in balance, and from that balance came wings to lift a world.”

“The Wright brothers didn't contemplate the staying on the ground of things. Alexander Graham Bell didn't contemplate the noncommunication of things. Thomas Edison didn't contemplate the darkness of things. In order to float an idea into your reality, you must be willing to do a somersault into the unconceivable and land on your feet, contemplating what you want instead of what you don't have.”

Want Ideas Reality Order Darkness Feet Land Willing Brother Communication What You Want Staying Bells Contemplating Floats Wright Brothers Graham Bell

Book:The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way: Easyread Large Edition

Source: The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way: Easyread Large Edition

“The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first World Wide Web, bringing people, languages, ideas, and values together.”

“I was attacked the other night for being grandiose. I would just want you to note: Lincoln standing at Council Bluffs was grandiose. The Wright Brothers standing at Kitty Hawk were grandiose. John F. Kennedy was grandiose. I accept the charge that I am grandiose and that Americans are instinctively grandiose.”

Want Night Accepting Brother Standing Notes Council Hawks Kitties Grandiose Bluffs Wright Brothers

Author:Newt Gingrich

“It's when things are going just right that you'd better be suspicious. There you are, fat as can be. The whole world is yours and you're the answer to the Wright brothers' prayers. You say to yourself, nothing can go wrong ... all my trespasses are forgiven. Best you not believe it.”

World Believe Whole Prayer Answers Brother Whole World Fats Aviation Forgiven Suspicious Great Aviation Wright Brothers World Is Yours

Author:Ernest K. Gann

“If the F.A.A. was around when the Wright Brothers were testing their aircraft, they would never have been able to make their first flight at Kitty Hawk.”

Ifs Firsts Has Beens Able Brother Flight Testing Aircraft Hawks Kitties Wright Brothers

Author:Larry Walters

“The worst sort of business is one that grows rapidly, requires significant capital to engender the growth, and then earns little or no money. Think airlines. Here a durable competitive advantage has proven elusive ever since the days of the Wright Brothers. Indeed, if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down.”

Source: Warren Buffett on Business: Principles from the Sage of Omaha

“The Wright brothers committed themselves to do what no one else had ever done before. They took time to do their homework. They were humble and smart enough to appreciate and learn about the work of others who went before. And they tackled the problem line upon line, precept upon precept.”

Done Enough Problem Lines Brother Smart Appreciate Committed Humble Homework Wright Brothers

Author:Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses.”

Doe Facts Genius Laughter Cosmos Laughed Clown Doing You Funny Leadership Implying Smile And Laugh Pale Blue Dot Wright Brothers

Author:Carl Sagan

“Successful technologies often begin as hobbies. Jacques Cousteau invented scuba diving because he enjoyed exploring caves. The Wright brothers invented flying as a relief from the monotony of their normal business of selling and repairing bicycles.”

Technology Successful Brother Normal Flying Selling Enjoyed Relief Hobbies Exploring Caves Bicycle Diving Monotony Scuba Repairing Scuba Diving Wright Brothers Jacques Cousteau

Book:Imagined World

Source: Imagined World

“They say that most airline seats on planes today are meant for 170-pound passengers. The last time the average American weighed 170 pounds, the Wright Brothers were flying the plane.”

Today Lasts Brother Average Flying Planes Seats Pounds Last Time Airline Passengers Wright Brothers

Author:Jay Leno

“We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning of that first flight? The anticipation of Jonas Salk as he analyzed the data that demonstrated a way to prevent polio?”

Way Firsts Morning Imagine Journey Brother Discovery Flight Data Excitement Anticipation Threshold New Discoveries Polio Wright Brothers New Journey

Author:Joseph B. Wirthlin

“If the Wright brothers hadn't put their lives on the line, we would not be flying around the world these days. So we need pioneers.”

Ifs World Needs Lines Brother Flying Around The World These Days Pioneers Wright Brothers

Author:Felix Baumgartner

Wright Brothers Quotes

Related topics

Wright Brothers Quotes