Dawn at Kill Devil Hill

摘要

'Isn't it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so that we could discover them!" The words were those of Orville Wright, written in June 1902. Within six months, Orville and his brother, Wilbur, were at Kitty Hawk, N.C., with their fully assembled and fully tested machine, the Flyer, waiting for all to the discovered secrets and hard work to come together as something momentous. It was cold on the morning of Dec. 17―almost too cold to work outside. A cold, gusty north wind was blowing, and almost at gale strength. The steady, 25 mph wind made the 30-degree temperature feel like 16 degrees. The term "wind chill" was still unknown in 1903, but the Wright brothers understood the effects only too well. The body loses heat at an accelerated pace. Hands become stiff. Eyes water. The throat feels cold, the ears tingle. Hauling, lifting―indeed, any heavy work outdoors―makes the wind feel like an adversary.