Pioneers of Flight

                 Imagine what it would have been like to be the first person to test brand-new airplane equipment, when airplanes themselves were new.  Can you picture being the first to plot a courseacross the sea, or even to prove that such a journey could be flown at all?
                 To get an idea of what it was like for these brave explorers, the newspaper talked with a curator, or person in charge, of the new Pioneers of Flight, exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
A slow start for flying
                 Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully flew the first powered, controlled, piloted flight in 1903.  But people didn't throw parades or rush to see people fly.  They didn't believe flying was anything practical.
                  It wasn't until 1908, when the Wright brothers flew in trials for the military, that people started to believe.  Also that year, there was a big air show in France.  Wilbur proved he could control the plane, flying in circles and figure eights. At last, people were excited about flight.
Planes go to war
                 Manufacturers organized exhibitions to show people that they had solved the problems of flight.  But most people didn't really value planes until World War I.
                  In that war, pilots could spot where the enemy was, where supply lines were, what the land was like, etc.  Soon, enemy pilots began fighting while flying, shooting from one airplane to another.  Pilots learned fighter moves, such as maneuvering around another plane and doing loops and rolls.
Flying takes off
                 After the war, aircraft were still not efficient enough to carry many passengers.  Pilots did many jobs, such as taking aerial photos, crop dusting, or spraying fields withpesticides, and performing exhibitions.
                But then pilots began getting government contracts to deliver air mail.  These contracts gave pilots a way to make a living even if there were few passengers at first.