William J. Claxton

Those of us who have seen an aeroplane rise from the ground know that it runs quickly along for 50 or 60 yards, until sufficient momentum has been gained for the craft to lift itself into the air. The Wrights, as stated, fitted their machine with a pair of launching runners which projected from the under side of the lower plane like two very long skates, and the method of launching their craft was quite different from that followed nowadays.