With a gliding machine made of sticks and cloth they learned to glide and soar from the top of a hill to the bottom; and by making not only hundreds but more than a thousand experiments ...

The experiments with the 1902 glider were almost as important as those the next year with the powered machine, for in 1902 the Wrights had solved most of the problems of stability and control.

In an interview posted to the U.S Army website, retired WWII glider pilot Lt. Col. Al Hulstrunk noted that "You would think you were in a popcorn machine — you would hear pop, pop, pop ...