Wronging the Wrights

Published: Nov. 2, 2022, 4 a.m.

It took pride, deceit, and a giant catapult to set off the feud between the Wright brothers and the Smithsonian. On December 17, 1903, the Wrights made history when they flew across a blustery beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The airplane they flew that day is now a centerpiece of the National Air and Space Museum\u2019s collection. This is the story of how it nearly wasn\u2019t.

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Guests:

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Peter Jakab, senior curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

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Tom Crouch, senior curator emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum