Whenever a year ending in “3” rolls around, I start thinking about how much time has passed since Wilbur and Orville Wright completed the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft. I also wonder how the brothers would feel about the current state of aviation.
Would the Wrights be amazed by how far we have come or surprised that more people are not involved in general aviation? Surely the latest avionics would blow their minds. We will never know, but what is almost certain is that they would have a hard time recognizing Kill Devil Hills, the North Carolina town where they made their first powered flight.
