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The Flyers: In Search of Wilbur and Orville Wright
“It takes only nineteen seconds to walk the distance of the first powered flight. But when I was there the wind was up and cold on my face, and I felt as if I’d entered the black-and-white photograph I’d been seeing all my life. The sand is light gray, there’s a spill of surf in the distance. Wilbur, running at the right of the plane, and Orville, the pilot, are in dark suits. The propellers blur against the sky as the machine rises. . . .”
So begins Noah Adams’s adventure in search of Wilbur and Orville Wright, a journey that takes him across the country as he follows in the footsteps of the famous brothers in an attempt to know them more deeply, not just as inventors and pilots but as individuals as well.
Adams, one of our most distinctive and talented storytellers, traveled thousands of miles and interviewed scores of experts and individuals to piece together his story. He finds a local boat captain to ferry him to Kitty Hawk, along the same route that Wilbur took in 1900, and spends several days talking with descendants of the families who first welcomed the Wright brothers a century ago and helped them conduct their gliding experiments. To experience first-hand the thrill of being in the air, Adams himself goes hang-gliding in the Outer Banks.
To understand the aerodynamics of lift and drag and how the famous 1903 plane was constructed, he visits Ken Hyde, a Virginia pilot and vintage aircraft builder who is creating the world’s most accurate reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer. Adams goes to the prop shop and handles the tools and materials that the Wrights used to build their gliders and planes, and later he visits the wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base where Hyde’s reproduction was tested for the first time.
He also travels to France to visit the old racetrack at Le Mans where Wilbur startled the European aviation community with his demonstration flights in 1908, and he spends a few days at Wisconsin’s Oshkosh Fly-in, where builders of experimental aircraft and owners of vintage planes gather every year to dazzle the crowds. Adams himself takes to the air in a restored Ford Tri-Motor, America’s first airliner, which took its maiden flight seventy years ago.
In Adams’s book we encounter the Wright brothers in a way that no writer has introduced them before. Through the lens of his own experiences as well as original reporting, letters, diaries, and other primary source material, he helps us understand the talent and intensity of the brothers and their family, including the fascinating, deeply complex, and at times tragic bond between Orville and Katharine, his younger sister.
The Flyers is a wonderfully rich narrative that brings an unprecedented spirit of immediacy to one of history’s most dramatic stories.
From the Hardcover edition.
So begins Noah Adams’s adventure in search of Wilbur and Orville Wright, a journey that takes him across the country as he follows in the footsteps of the famous brothers in an attempt to know them more deeply, not just as inventors and pilots but as individuals as well.
Adams, one of our most distinctive and talented storytellers, traveled thousands of miles and interviewed scores of experts and individuals to piece together his story. He finds a local boat captain to ferry him to Kitty Hawk, along the same route that Wilbur took in 1900, and spends several days talking with descendants of the families who first welcomed the Wright brothers a century ago and helped them conduct their gliding experiments. To experience first-hand the thrill of being in the air, Adams himself goes hang-gliding in the Outer Banks.
To understand the aerodynamics of lift and drag and how the famous 1903 plane was constructed, he visits Ken Hyde, a Virginia pilot and vintage aircraft builder who is creating the world’s most accurate reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer. Adams goes to the prop shop and handles the tools and materials that the Wrights used to build their gliders and planes, and later he visits the wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base where Hyde’s reproduction was tested for the first time.
He also travels to France to visit the old racetrack at Le Mans where Wilbur startled the European aviation community with his demonstration flights in 1908, and he spends a few days at Wisconsin’s Oshkosh Fly-in, where builders of experimental aircraft and owners of vintage planes gather every year to dazzle the crowds. Adams himself takes to the air in a restored Ford Tri-Motor, America’s first airliner, which took its maiden flight seventy years ago.
In Adams’s book we encounter the Wright brothers in a way that no writer has introduced them before. Through the lens of his own experiences as well as original reporting, letters, diaries, and other primary source material, he helps us understand the talent and intensity of the brothers and their family, including the fascinating, deeply complex, and at times tragic bond between Orville and Katharine, his younger sister.
The Flyers is a wonderfully rich narrative that brings an unprecedented spirit of immediacy to one of history’s most dramatic stories.
From the Hardcover edition.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 8, 2012
How could I not give The Flyers: In Search of Wilbur & Orville Wright 5 Stars? I've been flying my whole life and yet only really knew the Wright Brothers of Dec 17th, 1903. This small, friendly, unassuming book has remedied my lack of knowledge. This is a story of Wilbur, Orville and Katharine Wright, along with others of the Wright family. We get an understanding of the lead up to that first flight and how remote Kitty Hawk was. We also get a great discussion of what happened afterwards. The trips to Europe to demonstrate and sell airplanes, the demonstration flights for the US Army and the business of flying. The story of Katharine is especially poignant. The Wrights were unique and the stories are both wondrous and tragic. They were "rock stars" of the European circuit in the early days of flying. Throughout the book, you constantly wonder what it must have been like to first hear an airplane, something common and unremarkable to us now. Adams visits all the key locations while telling the story and has a good eye for comparing old photos to the current picture. Highly recommended.
May 9, 2025
There used to be a statue of the Wright brothers in the main concourse at Jan Smuts airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. I first saw it when I was seven on my first trip by air going from Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to Israel. My mother explained who they were and of course I read the plaque. Since then I have always been fascinated by flight despite the fact that the statue disappeared sometime in the 1980s and Jan Smuts Airport is now Oliver Tambo Airport and bears no resemblance to the building of my memories. When I saw The Flyers (In Search Of Wilbur & Orville Wright) by Noah Adams at my public library, I just had to read it.
The book is part travelogue, part history and covers not only the life and travels of the Wright brothers themselves, but also include the rest of the family, often in quite some detail.
A US Army pilot is quoted as saying that today all pilots are trained by someone who has experience. “The Wrights had to learn how to do it themselves. And when they crashed, they didn’t know if it was their design or their flying.” I think this is the crux of the book. The author shows us how far we have come in such a short period of time and even inadvertently hints at more change. The book was written in 2002 and he describes a huge aircraft hangar near Kittyhawk where all blimps in the USA are prepared. He mentions a blimp advertising Fuji color film and I thought of the Monty Python line: say no more!
We all know that when the Wrights were developing the plane, it was a time of inventors. Bill Bryson even wrote an excellent book that covered part of the period (“Made in America”). They also came from a part of the country, Dayton OH, which led the country in per capita patent grants. It must have been something in the water! That the Wright brothers would not be the first to fly does not appear to have crossed their minds. They always believed that they knew what they were doing and took a very engineering approach. They didn't stumble into being the first to fly despite the claim I once saw in a book (perhaps even the Bryson book) that attributed their success to the fact that they built bicycles which, like the aircraft, are an inherently unstable mode of transport. This book does make the point though, that turning the aircraft was based on the way a bicycle is turned.
They researched the history of flight. The Smithsonian had sponsored some attempts at flight and the Wrights accessed the records. In the 18th century, John Smeaton had calculated the coefficients of lift and drag and the Wright brother used this as well as work from the early gliders like Otto Lilienthal. From the book it appears that not everyone in flight had this methodical and scientific approach. There were numerous setbacks as the brothers attempted launching gliders before their powered flight and almost gave up until they did some pioneering work with a “wind tunnel” which was nothing more than a fan. They discovered that the Smeaton coefficients were significantly out and their recalculated value gave them the edge needed. They had also figured out how to design the propeller, treating it as a rotating wing. They even had to develop their own engine.
The Wrights were given the first contract by the military to develop an aircraft. I don’t know what the modern day equivalent is, but they got $25,000 and 200 days to do it. Now that has changed a lot.
One of their early competitors was a group led by Alexander Graham Bell and Glenn Hammond Curtiss. They were at the military evaluation of the plane and took movies of the tests. There are rumours that Bell in fact cribbed the design of the telephone, so perhaps this was an example of industrial spying. That test ended in a disastrous crash with the first powered aircraft fatality. Orville was seriously injured and troubled by the injuries for the rest of his life. During this time Wilbur was in France trying to create a market in Europe.
What struck me the most was quite how primitive everything was. All Wilbur took with him to Kittyhawk was the fabric and his tools. Everything like the airframe was manufactured locally. He must have been quite a “seamster” (male form of seamstress?) because he stitched the skin of the aircraft. But more than that, the conditions were so harsh. There were no inns, running water, heaters etc. They camped in tents on the ground. If I travel to site, I expect an hotel, all the mod cons, meals provided and more. Even then I regard as working away from home as very trying.
Famous names cross the Wrights’ paths, more so Orville than Wilbur, since Wilbur died from typhoid at a young age. Orville was a celebrity, but seemed to prefer being out of the limelight. Aside from Bell/Curtiss the book mentions Marconi, Amelia Earhart (who went to the 25th anniversary of the first flight at Kittyhawk) and Charles Lindbergh with whom there appeared to be mutual admiration society. There are also touches of what mundane life was like. For instance Wilbur was introduced to alphabet noodles in soup in France and thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Another interesting factoid is that Western Union provided special codes so that anyone could send an encrypted telegram.
There are some amusing parts as well, as in the case where Orville was taking part in an exhibition in New York. He thought he would try and circumnavigate Manhattan but was worried that the turbulence from the buildings would lead to a crash and so he strapped a canoe under the plane (as the first life raft)!
Orville appears to have kept a very low profile, but had a large dispute with the Smithsonian over displaying the Flyer. The work the Smithsonian had sponsored was close to the administration’s heart and they wanted their “Great Aerodrome” displayed together with the Flyer but stating that the former was the first in flight even though it crashed into the Potomac. For most of Orville’s life the Flyer was displayed in London. He only relented when the Smithsonian agreed to tell the story with the Wright brothers as the first.
I found the book annoying from two perspectives. Firstly the author projects thoughts into the Wrights’ heads with no basis for them, a technique I have seen and been irritated by, in several other books. For instance he discusses what Wilbur must have thought when he first saw the beach at Kittyhawk and waxes lyrical about the wind and the slope. My bet is the Wilbur thought to himself after the difficult trip to get there- “this will do, now where can I get a hot bath?” (Apparently the Wrights did not imbibe, or so their father reported).
My second gripe is that there are hints of patent disputes here and there. Curtiss had invented the aileron which the Wrights felt violated their patent on wing design. There is a mention that Orville disliked writing reports where he felt there were other patent infringements, but the book glosses over them completely. Surely there was some animosity, some hard fought legal battles? Although society was much more genteel back then, I can’t believe that these issues didn’t boil over. Also unclear was whether the Wrights became wealthy like other inventors of their day. There was obviously some money because the Wrights built a large family residence and owned property in Canada but they were obviously not ostentatious, possibly because the family was religious (the father was in fact a bishop). This brings me to a flaw in the travelogue. The author does not mention visiting the original Wright Brothers workshop that has been transported to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, a museum well worth a visit.
I found the book easy to read and enjoyable, but in the end a little disappointing from an engineering perspective. But I would like to propose a work of fiction that would malign Orville’s well deserved good name. The passenger at the military trials who was killed was an Army First Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge who was a pilot in his own right (pun intended). He had piloted the Bell/Curtiss plane and at the time held the record for the longest linear flight. He was decidedly Orville’s rival and to me this has the making of a wonderful conspiracy theory.
The book is part travelogue, part history and covers not only the life and travels of the Wright brothers themselves, but also include the rest of the family, often in quite some detail.
A US Army pilot is quoted as saying that today all pilots are trained by someone who has experience. “The Wrights had to learn how to do it themselves. And when they crashed, they didn’t know if it was their design or their flying.” I think this is the crux of the book. The author shows us how far we have come in such a short period of time and even inadvertently hints at more change. The book was written in 2002 and he describes a huge aircraft hangar near Kittyhawk where all blimps in the USA are prepared. He mentions a blimp advertising Fuji color film and I thought of the Monty Python line: say no more!
We all know that when the Wrights were developing the plane, it was a time of inventors. Bill Bryson even wrote an excellent book that covered part of the period (“Made in America”). They also came from a part of the country, Dayton OH, which led the country in per capita patent grants. It must have been something in the water! That the Wright brothers would not be the first to fly does not appear to have crossed their minds. They always believed that they knew what they were doing and took a very engineering approach. They didn't stumble into being the first to fly despite the claim I once saw in a book (perhaps even the Bryson book) that attributed their success to the fact that they built bicycles which, like the aircraft, are an inherently unstable mode of transport. This book does make the point though, that turning the aircraft was based on the way a bicycle is turned.
They researched the history of flight. The Smithsonian had sponsored some attempts at flight and the Wrights accessed the records. In the 18th century, John Smeaton had calculated the coefficients of lift and drag and the Wright brother used this as well as work from the early gliders like Otto Lilienthal. From the book it appears that not everyone in flight had this methodical and scientific approach. There were numerous setbacks as the brothers attempted launching gliders before their powered flight and almost gave up until they did some pioneering work with a “wind tunnel” which was nothing more than a fan. They discovered that the Smeaton coefficients were significantly out and their recalculated value gave them the edge needed. They had also figured out how to design the propeller, treating it as a rotating wing. They even had to develop their own engine.
The Wrights were given the first contract by the military to develop an aircraft. I don’t know what the modern day equivalent is, but they got $25,000 and 200 days to do it. Now that has changed a lot.
One of their early competitors was a group led by Alexander Graham Bell and Glenn Hammond Curtiss. They were at the military evaluation of the plane and took movies of the tests. There are rumours that Bell in fact cribbed the design of the telephone, so perhaps this was an example of industrial spying. That test ended in a disastrous crash with the first powered aircraft fatality. Orville was seriously injured and troubled by the injuries for the rest of his life. During this time Wilbur was in France trying to create a market in Europe.
What struck me the most was quite how primitive everything was. All Wilbur took with him to Kittyhawk was the fabric and his tools. Everything like the airframe was manufactured locally. He must have been quite a “seamster” (male form of seamstress?) because he stitched the skin of the aircraft. But more than that, the conditions were so harsh. There were no inns, running water, heaters etc. They camped in tents on the ground. If I travel to site, I expect an hotel, all the mod cons, meals provided and more. Even then I regard as working away from home as very trying.
Famous names cross the Wrights’ paths, more so Orville than Wilbur, since Wilbur died from typhoid at a young age. Orville was a celebrity, but seemed to prefer being out of the limelight. Aside from Bell/Curtiss the book mentions Marconi, Amelia Earhart (who went to the 25th anniversary of the first flight at Kittyhawk) and Charles Lindbergh with whom there appeared to be mutual admiration society. There are also touches of what mundane life was like. For instance Wilbur was introduced to alphabet noodles in soup in France and thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Another interesting factoid is that Western Union provided special codes so that anyone could send an encrypted telegram.
There are some amusing parts as well, as in the case where Orville was taking part in an exhibition in New York. He thought he would try and circumnavigate Manhattan but was worried that the turbulence from the buildings would lead to a crash and so he strapped a canoe under the plane (as the first life raft)!
Orville appears to have kept a very low profile, but had a large dispute with the Smithsonian over displaying the Flyer. The work the Smithsonian had sponsored was close to the administration’s heart and they wanted their “Great Aerodrome” displayed together with the Flyer but stating that the former was the first in flight even though it crashed into the Potomac. For most of Orville’s life the Flyer was displayed in London. He only relented when the Smithsonian agreed to tell the story with the Wright brothers as the first.
I found the book annoying from two perspectives. Firstly the author projects thoughts into the Wrights’ heads with no basis for them, a technique I have seen and been irritated by, in several other books. For instance he discusses what Wilbur must have thought when he first saw the beach at Kittyhawk and waxes lyrical about the wind and the slope. My bet is the Wilbur thought to himself after the difficult trip to get there- “this will do, now where can I get a hot bath?” (Apparently the Wrights did not imbibe, or so their father reported).
My second gripe is that there are hints of patent disputes here and there. Curtiss had invented the aileron which the Wrights felt violated their patent on wing design. There is a mention that Orville disliked writing reports where he felt there were other patent infringements, but the book glosses over them completely. Surely there was some animosity, some hard fought legal battles? Although society was much more genteel back then, I can’t believe that these issues didn’t boil over. Also unclear was whether the Wrights became wealthy like other inventors of their day. There was obviously some money because the Wrights built a large family residence and owned property in Canada but they were obviously not ostentatious, possibly because the family was religious (the father was in fact a bishop). This brings me to a flaw in the travelogue. The author does not mention visiting the original Wright Brothers workshop that has been transported to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, a museum well worth a visit.
I found the book easy to read and enjoyable, but in the end a little disappointing from an engineering perspective. But I would like to propose a work of fiction that would malign Orville’s well deserved good name. The passenger at the military trials who was killed was an Army First Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge who was a pilot in his own right (pun intended). He had piloted the Bell/Curtiss plane and at the time held the record for the longest linear flight. He was decidedly Orville’s rival and to me this has the making of a wonderful conspiracy theory.
September 23, 2016
Well, that took an embarrassingly long time. Review soon to come.
December 10, 2022
This book is exactly what the subtle suggests. Adams goes to where the wright brothers (and sister) went. He describes the scene and the terrain then and now. He only lightly mentions the politics and court battles but now when I read about those, I will be able to place them in a physical context.
April 18, 2025
The premise is great to have gone and seen all the formative spots of the Wright Brothers career. Great explanations and weaving current day with history. I especially dug the descriptions of the Outer Banks in the early 1900s.
March 28, 2018
I’ve read several books on the Wright Brothers and have loved all of them. This one wasn’t the best, but it was still interesting.
May 10, 2020
Interesting story of the first flight. Especially interesting is the few years from the first flight to larger plans and war plans. Odd family dynamics too.
October 27, 2022
Fortunately, it is not a long boring book. Honestly, my expectations were minimal but this was just a very dull read.
January 17, 2019
It's hard to believe that an author can help the reader get to know people by tracing their lives and experiences yet Noah Adams did so. As we travel with him to the many libraries, air fields and cities the Wrights visited we begin to understand Wilbur and Orville Wright and who they really were. Both were incredibly consumed by putting man in the air and dedicated their lives not only proving that it was possible but doing it.
The brothers closeness with their father and sister is shown again and again even when family members are separated by thousands of miles. I loved this book and found myself thinking that I should go to Kitty Hawk and visit the museum dedicated to the Wrights I have seen their flyer in The Smithsonian. Thanks to Noah Adams I now have a clearer picture of who brothers really were. Their pride, their tenacity and their brains never stopped thinking about flying. Yes, others would have helped man into the air had they not done so but I'm glad to know that the Wrights were first. This is a read that can recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the Wrights, flight and how their achiements affected the future of aviation.
The brothers closeness with their father and sister is shown again and again even when family members are separated by thousands of miles. I loved this book and found myself thinking that I should go to Kitty Hawk and visit the museum dedicated to the Wrights I have seen their flyer in The Smithsonian. Thanks to Noah Adams I now have a clearer picture of who brothers really were. Their pride, their tenacity and their brains never stopped thinking about flying. Yes, others would have helped man into the air had they not done so but I'm glad to know that the Wrights were first. This is a read that can recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the Wrights, flight and how their achiements affected the future of aviation.
February 15, 2023
As mentioned by other reviewers, it's not a traditional history or biography of the Wright Brothers. If you're not interested in an in-depth accounting of early aviation but want to learn about the story of the first flight, this book (which might be best described as a travelogue) is a great introduction. I bought the paperback years ago, probably for my then-boyfriend/now-husband, who is an aviation history buff. I don't think he's ever read it, but now I have!
February 17, 2017
While the Wright Brothers success in building a flying machine is a historical event of the largest magnitude, this book seemed a bit dry to me. I do want to read another book on the subject since air travel has changed the world.
November 16, 2009
Very enjoyable and thought provoking book. I had read his previous book, Far Appalachia, which I also enjoyed.
He goes great detail about some of the pictures. And I suppose he is right to. In the picture taken of the first flight he tells us about the footprints in the sand at Kill Devil Hills going up to the plane and we see the plane in the air. That was a world changing instant. I can’t really see the footprints in the copy of the photo in the book. But I want to believe that they are there.
He goes great detail about some of the pictures. And I suppose he is right to. In the picture taken of the first flight he tells us about the footprints in the sand at Kill Devil Hills going up to the plane and we see the plane in the air. That was a world changing instant. I can’t really see the footprints in the copy of the photo in the book. But I want to believe that they are there.
January 30, 2010
Noah Adams is a master at taking small details and bringing them to life. This book is not precisely a history of flight or a biography of the Wright brothers, although that is a part of it. Instead, he describes travels to major scenes in their life -- Dayton, Kitty Hawk, Washington, France -- and puts the history into the current reality. He is not so much reporting facts as facts tinged with impressions.
As a consequence the historical figures, especially Katherine Wright Haskell, truly are rounded out. The requent quoting from primary sources adds validity to his narrative.
As a consequence the historical figures, especially Katherine Wright Haskell, truly are rounded out. The requent quoting from primary sources adds validity to his narrative.
January 24, 2012
Noah Adams did a wonderful job researching and writing this book. He visited many of the places Orville and Wilbur visited. He did an amazing amount of research in order to give us a clearer picture of the life and accomplishments of these famous brothers. I loved this book and would now like to visit many of the places to see them for myself. I feel like I have a clearer picture of the Wright brothers and an even deeper appreciation for what they achieved. I highly recommend this book to history buffs and aviation enthusiasts!!
May 1, 2016
NPR's Noah Adams was both author and reader of the audiobook version of this book. Adams has such an amazing radio voice that I'd be willing to listen to him randomly read through names in the phone book. Unfortunately, that's what it felt like I was doing much of the time. This is the most oddly organized book. It's as if he transcribed his notes as is, mixing in Wright Bros. history, encounters with eccentric people, details of his research trips, and whatever archival details struck him as interesting. Where was the editor?
July 31, 2012
Noah Adams does a wonderful job of taking the reader on both the physical and historical journey, and if you have been able to visit any of these sites on your own, the wind and the sand painted in mind's eye by his prose are all the more tangible. This is an excellent story of the men and the moment, set in the larger context of their family, their work, and their post-flight lives.
October 19, 2013
Not an in-depth biography of the Wright Brothers, but still much is revealed about their work, personalities, travels and family relationships. The author visits places where the Wrights flew (much about Dayton, which I appreciated as a native Daytonian), Kitty Hawk, Paris, Ft. Mead -- reports what they did there and interviews locals.
December 17, 2008
A fast an easy read about the Wright Bros. Tends to be a bit too self-indulgent about the author's own experiences visiting the different places the Wright Bros. worked. Still, has many interesting insights into who these people were, and the ways their lives were changed by their great invention.
October 30, 2009
Learned of many things I never knew regarding the Wright family and journey. Fascinating! Recommend to anyone truly interested in the personalities of Orville and Wilbur as well as the challenges they underwent to achieve their goal.
December 17, 2008
A wonderful look at what it took to create an airplane. Covers interesting relationships as well as how to conduct archival research.
November 4, 2010
Get it on CD if you can-Noah Adams' reading is superb.
August 7, 2011
A great examination of the men who taught the world to fly and the fascinating life they led.
July 21, 2014
Good account of the Wright Brothers.
August 3, 2012
Noah Adams wanted to follow the route and thoughts of the Wright brothers.
There is too much Noah and too little Wright brothers.
There is too much Noah and too little Wright brothers.
August 19, 2012
An easy read with a broad overview of the Wright brothers history altering contribution to mankind.
March 4, 2013
It's an OK book but shouldn't be read immediately after reading "The Bishop's Boys".
April 5, 2013
The subject matter was interesting, but the book was disjointed and boring.
January 10, 2016
This is a book written by Noah Adams, the National Public Radio personality. Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that his reporting and books are more about his view of the world.
June 21, 2016
For the most part, even though I recently read a book on the Wright brothers, the author told the story well and kept my interest.
Want to read
August 17, 2016my copy 220 pages hardback 2003 Crown Library edition.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews