The first two problems had been solved to some extent, they thought. However, the problem of control had hardly been addressed. Orville and Wilbur were amazed that the problem of balance and control had received so little attention. Otto Lilienthal had attempted to balance his gliders by swinging and thrashing his body and legs about. Langley's model was capable of only straight-line flights; his goal was simply to be the first man to fly.

After studying the problem, Orville and Wilbur thought an effective means of controlling the flying machine was the key to successful flight. What was needed was a control system that an airborne pilot could operate, and at the same time, keep the machine flying. First, it would need to balance and keep the aircraft on course as it climbed and descended. Second, it would need to be able to turn the aircraft.

Like bicycling, flying required balance in all its motions. Studying birds, Orville and Wilbur observed that birds kept adjusting the positions of their outstretched wings. It seemed that birds balanced themselves and controlled their flight by changing the angle of how each wing met the oncoming air. One day in the bicycle shop while he was talking to a customer, Wilbur begins twisting the ends of the box in the opposite directions. Looking down at his hands, he saw the solution to the problem. By having a spiral twist running along an aircraft's wings, it would be possible to tilt one wing up and the other down at the same time.

To test Wilbur's idea, the brothers designed their first experimental aircraft, a bi-wing glider with a five-foot wing span, designed to be flown as a kite. They tested the kite by pulling long strings attached to the controls from the ground. The kite responded immediately by climbing, diving, and rolling to the right or left on command. Convinced they were on the right track, the brothers were ready for the next step.

Wilbur wrote to the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington, DC, asking for a list of the windiest weather stations in the country. One site sounded ideal, even though they had never heard of it. It was a remote-fishing village called Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There the wind averaged 10-20 miles per hour and had endless stretches of sandy beach for soft landings and plenty of solitude so that the brothers could experiment in secret.

The following year they built a larger glider and decided to take it to Kitty Hawk for testing. Having made arrangements ahead a time to stay with the local postmaster, William Tate and his family, Wilbur set off on the adventure of his life. The trip was not easy. First he traveled by train, then by ferry to reach Norfolk, VA. Back on the train a second time, he went from Norfolk to Elizabeth City, NC. Once in Elizabeth City, it took him three days to find someone to take him the thirty-five miles across Albemarle Sound to Kitty Hawk.