1898

MARCH 25 In Washington, D. C., Assis­tant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt recommends to the Secretary

of the Navy that “scientific officers” be appointed to investigate the military applications of Dr. Samuel P. Langley’s

experimental “flying machine” under development.

APRIL 29 The first joint Army-Navy aeronautics board issues a report enunci­ating its findings relative to Dr. Samuel

Langley’s flying machine. This device is a developmental model with no practical military application, but they nonetheless recommend funding for continuing experimentation.

1900

OCTOBER At Kitty Hawk, North Caro­lina, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright

successfully test their manned glider design.

1901

June 26—27 In Dayton, Ohio, the Wright brothers confer with aeronautical theorist Octave Chanute over the con­cept of “flying machines.”

JULY 27 At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers’ 1901 Glider is suc­cessfully launched from sand dunes for the first time.

1902

September 19 At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers begin testing their new, larger glider with technical information received from Octave Chanute. The device flies

consistent with calculations that had been figured in advance. That winter the Wrights begin construction of a special four-cylinder motor and propellers for their glider.