I finished the truly American story of The Wright Brothers by David McCullough and came across a fascinating piece of trivia. The moods and insights of the brothers, in addition to family members are portrayed alongside the enormity of the achievement which is being undertaken. If you think you are aware of the story, think again. Then pick up this book and find a slice of America to revel in once again–page by page.
On July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon he carried with him, as a tribute to the Wright Brothers, a small swath of muslin from the a wing of their 1903 Flyer.
How awesome was that moment! How truly amazed and thunderstruck they would have felt. They marshaled in an achievement for mankind.
This plaque below commemorates two of humankind’s greatest flight achievements – the first powered, controlled flight of the Wright Brothers in December 1903 and the first human lunar landing (Apollo 11) in July 1969. The fabric and wood pieces in the middle of the plaque are from the Wright Brothers airplane, Kitty Hawk. These two pieces were flown on the Apollo 11 mission and were in the lunar module Eagle that landed on the Moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. The plaque was transferred to the Smithsonian from the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1972.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 