This chart is somewhat interesting too:
Excerpt re chart:
The blue points in Figure 1 depict the progress made during the period 1894 to 1905. Although an occasional craft flew farther than 100 meters (about the length of a football field), this level of performance was exceptional. Unfortunately, inventors at the time were unable to capitalize on their success. Often times a new generation craft did not perform as well as its predecessor. Thus, the blue regression line in Figure 1 is essentially flat. This tendency is usually true for individual inventors as well as the field as a whole.
Against this backdrop, we see the Wright brothers efforts to develop an airplane, plotted in green on Figure 1. The Wrights first craft in 1900 was approximately equal to the best that had been done prior to that time. They made steady progress in 1901 and 1902. The 1902 glider was the first truly effective heavier-than-air craft. In 1903 the Wrights created their first powered craft, which successfully flew on December 17, 1903. More capable airplanes were developed in 1904 and 1905, which culminated in their stunning European and American flights in 1908.
The Tale of the Airplane