Republished by the Science Museum to mark the centenary of the Wright brothers' pioneering flights on 17 December 1903, this classic account provides an introduction to their remarkable careers and their unique place in aviation history.The Wrights were arguably the first to make powered, sustained and controlled flights, near Kitty Hawk, NC; the aeroplane, the first Flyer, was of their own design and construction and had been developed over a period of three years. It was loaned to the Science Museum, London, from 1928 to 1948, and is now displayed in the National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington DC, a reproduction remaining in London.This edition of Gibbs-Smith's authoritative text, first published in 1987, is illustrated with a number of historic photographs and detailed diagrams.