How the Wright brothers convinced the patent office their ‘flying machine’ was legit

Here are three descriptions written by the aviation pioneers for Patent No. 821,393:

'New' and 'useful' ... no kidding: "Be it known that we, ORVILLE WRIGHT and WILBUR WRIGHT, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of Dayton, county of Montgomery, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flying-Machines…"

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Their main fix? Overcoming 'disturbing forces': "…there are numerous disturbing forces which tend to shift the machine from the position which it should occupy to obtain the desired results. It is the chief object of our invention to provide means for remedying this difficulty…"

Body rests on the cradle. "…the machine is intended to be generally used with the operator lying face downward on the lower aeroplane, with his head to the front, so that the operator's body rests on the cradle, and the cradle can be moved laterally by the movements of the operator's body…"

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