Many tried and failed. Lilienthal, Langley, even da Vinci. Each man was a expert in his field, each understood the principles of heavier-than-air flight, but none were able to master it. It fell upon two mild-mannered bicycle repairmen to find the answer that eluded so many. Along the way, they developed many of the tools and techniques that are commonplace in the aeronautical world of today. All of their work paid off on a windy day in December of 1903, when Orville and Wilbur took to the air for the first time. They had invented the Wright way to fly.