Editing Wright brothers (section)

====1900====
[[File:WrightBrothers1900Glider.jpg|thumb|The 1900 glider. No photo was taken with a pilot aboard.]]
The brothers flew the glider for only a few days in the early autumn of 1900 at Kitty Hawk. In the first tests, probably on October 3, Wilbur was aboard while the glider flew as a kite not far above the ground with men below holding tether ropes.<ref name=Crouch-2003/>{{rp|pages=188–189}} Most of the kite tests were unpiloted, with sandbags or chains and even a local boy as ballast.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/Century_Before/Road_to_Kitty_Hawk/Road_to_Kitty_Hawk.htm |title=The road to Kitty Hawk |website=wright-brothers.org |access-date=January 12, 2016}}, "The Wrights send 10-year-old Tom Tate, William's nephew up on the glider as they fly it like a kite."</ref>

They tested wing-warping using control ropes from the ground. The glider was also tested unmanned while suspended from a small homemade tower. Wilbur, but not Orville, made about a dozen free glides on only a single day, October 20. For those tests the brothers trekked four miles (6{{nbsp}}km) south to the [[Kill Devil Hills]], a group of sand dunes up to {{convert|100|ft|m|-1}} high (where they made camp in each of the next three years). Although the glider's lift was less than expected, the brothers were encouraged because the craft's front elevator worked well and they had no accidents. However, the small number of free glides meant they were not able to give wing-warping a true test.

The pilot lay flat on the lower wing, as planned, to reduce aerodynamic drag. As a glide ended, the pilot was supposed to lower himself to a vertical position through an opening in the wing and land on his feet with his arms wrapped over the framework. Within a few glides, however, they discovered the pilot could remain prone on the wing, headfirst, without undue danger when landing. They made all their flights in that position for the next five years.