For the Wright brothers, designing an aircraft that would change shape during flight seemed an obvious solution. When other rigid flying machines failed, Orville and Wilbur Wright took inspiration from the flexible designs of nature. They noticed that birds roll to the side by changing the angle at the ends of their wings and believed they could use the same technique to lean into a turn. They set about devising a saddle in which the pilot could move his hips from side to side, tugging on a set of cables that warped either the left or right wingtip to provide flight control. This unusual strategy proved successful and, on 17 December 1903, the Wright brothers completed their first airborne flight.
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