Wilbur said, "Lilienthal was without question the greatest of the precursors, and the world owes to him a great debt." In May 1899 Wilbur wrote a letter"Wilbur Wright May 30, 1899 Letter to Smithsonian." Smithsonian Scrapbook: Letters from the Archives. Retrieved: September 21, 2010. to the Smithsonian Institution requesting information and publications about aeronautics.Howard 1988, p. 30. Drawing on the work of Sir George Cayley, Chanute, Lilienthal, Leonardo da Vinci, and Langley, they began their mechanical aeronautical experimentation that year.
Wilbur said, "Lilienthal was without question the greatest of the precursors, and the world owes to him a great debt." In May 1899 Wilbur wrote a letter"Wilbur Wright May 30, 1899 Letter to Smithsonian." Smithsonian Scrapbook: Letters from the Archives. Retrieved: September 21, 2010. to the Smithsonian Institution requesting information and publications about aeronautics.Howard 1988, p. 30. Drawing on the work of Sir George Cayley, Chanute, Lilienthal, Leonardo da Vinci, and Langley, they began their mechanical aeronautical experimentation that year.