In the concluding paper of The beginnings of powered flight conference, Gordon Bruce explores the relationship between the Wright Brothers and the land of their ancestors. Starting off by looking at how UK aeronautical figures shaped Orville and Wilbur’s thinking, Bruce tells the story of the UK Government’s reaction to their invention, how the Wrights worked with Shorts to manufacture the Short-Wright aircraft for the civil market, how a disagreement with the Smithsonian led to the 1903 Wright Flyer spending a quarter of a century in London’s Science Museum and how Orville’s life-long work on protecting their patents was interrupted by a “noble act” of not renewing their basic UK patents in the heat of the First World War.

The lecture concludes with a general question and answer session with speakers from across the day.

The lecture was part of a seminar, “The beginnings of powered flight: The Wright Brothers contribution to aviation”, which was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 May 2003. The podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and they were digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.