Is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? Yes, actually, the first one.

This picture is from the Wright Brother’s First powered flight, Dec. 17, 1903. This was not a disaster, nor even a gain of freedom, this was two men and the first working aircraft. It obviously has humble beginnings, this showing a shoddy aircraft in a misty farm in Dayton, OH; however, this lead to the airfare of today: Delta Airlines, United, Southwest, and all the rest. The three-axis control, which allowed for the craft to maintain equilibrium, was the breakthrough in aeronautical study. Though it wasn’t really of any political significance, the plane was American and showed that America was a place for the sciences and a power that was racing against all the others. It may have been shocking to people expecting the Chinese, or perhaps the Russians, to come out with this technology but to the Americans, it was a national accomplishment. Man was finally off the ground.