The Wright Brothers, McCullough - B +

                                             They were the third and fourth sons of a Protestant minister, Wilbur older than Orville by four years.  They first sold and repaired bicycles and then began to hand-build their own model. To say they were handy would be an understatement.  They could build or repair anything. Wilbur initiated the study of aerodynamics and the pursuit of a flying machine.  They sought a locale to test their first glider and were steered to the Outer Banks by the Weather Service. They were off to Kitty Hawk in the fall of 1900, back the following year and again in 1902. Their third glider was a success. "They knew they had solved the problem of flight and more. They had acquired the knowledge and skill to fly. They could soar, they could float, they could dive and rise, circle and glide and land, all with assurance. Now they had only to build a motor." With the help of Charlie Taylor, their shop assistant, they built a 156-lb. 4-cylinder motor with an aluminum block from Alcoa from scratch. On Dec.17, 1903 the Wright Flyer completed four flights. As successful as they were, it would take almost five years more for them to achieve the recognition, fame, honor and wealth that you would expect from their accomplishments. On August 8, 1908, Wilbur flew the Flyer III in Le Mans, France for only two minutes and two miles, considerably less than they had flown in Ohio. The difference this time was that it was in public before a startled press and government officials. Their place in history was assured. Orville followed up with proving flights on behalf of the Army at Ft. Myers, VA.  Feted on both sides of the Atlantic, they spent their next few years endlessly demonstrating their plane to the people of America and Europe.  They incorporated and later sold their airplane manufacturing business, sued many including Glenn Curtiss, a competitor,  for patent infringement and won every lawsuit they were ever involved in. They fought off all who laid claim to their preeminence as the first aviators. They never married. Wilbur died at 45 in 1912 and Orville at 77 in 1948.  When Ohio born and raised Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon in 1969, he carried a swatch of the muslin from the wing of their 1903 glider. This is a wonderful American story, set at a time now long ago and told by one of the best.