A kite with a motor: Glenn Martin started making flying machines when he was just a young boy.

The floor was crunchy with scraps of paper, and the open glue pot filled the room with a heavy, stale odor. Glenn Martin didn't notice. All the six-year-old thought about was finishing his kite.

Made of brown paper and thin twigs, the narrow box--as tall as he was--didn't look like the diamond-shaped kites the other boys in Liberal, Kansas, were flying in 1892. But Glenn was sure his kite would fly up among the clouds.

The other kids didn't think so. They laughed at Glenn's strange kite, especially Joe Rankin, a third-grader who bet Glenn it wouldn't get off the ground.

Glenn agreed to race his kite against Joe's. The two boys let their kites ride the wind. Higher and higher soared Glenn's. Weighted down by its long, heavy tail, Joe's gigantic kite couldn't come close to it.

Building Kites and Airplanes

Glenn won the contest and his first paying job. Joe paid him a quarter to make him a box kite. Soon Glenn was building kites for the other kids in town.

When the Wright brothers made history with their flying machine in 1903, Glenn understood exactly how it worked. "Nothing but a kite with a motor on it," he said.

Now a young man, Glenn Martin owned a Ford car dealership in California, where he and his father worked. In his spare time, Martin and his mechanic built gliders. The third one they built stayed aloft for short glides.

Then Martin decided to build a different kind of airplane, called a monoplane because it only had one wing that spanned both sides. In July 1908, Martin and his friends hooked the plane to his car and towed it out to a nearby pasture.

One friend spun the propeller. The monoplane's Ford engine roared to life, and continued spinning the propeller. Martin began to make practice runs along the pasture. Then the engine sputtered and stopped.

Impatient to get off the ground, Martin didn't wait for the others to run over and help start the plane again. He leaped to the ground and spun the propeller himself.

Immediately the engine caught, and the plane began to move. It happened so fast that Martin didn't have a chance to jump back into the pilot's seat! Running alongside the plane, he held on and tried to make sure it didn't run over anyone.

No one got hurt, but the plane was ruined.

Try, Try Again

Martin was disappointed, but he didn't give up his dream of building a flying machine. This time he sent a letter to the Wright brothers, asking if he could build a plane based on their designs. Orville Wright wrote back to give him permission.

Working in an old, abandoned church, Martin, a few friends, and his mother built the second plane. They kept its weight as low as possible, using light woods like spruce and bamboo. They covered the upper and lower wings of the biplane with fine fabric coated in varnish. The engine was another Ford, and the propeller was carved from laminated wood.

On August 1, 1909, Martin and his friends towed the plane to a nearby ranch. This time, Martin let the others handle the propeller, and he stayed firmly in the pilot's seat as the engine began to run. He taxied back and forth across the field, then opened the throttle and pulled back on the wheel.

Lift Off!

The plane lifted up off the ground, flying about one hundred feet before it bounced down to Earth again. Martin had flown for 12 seconds.

That day Glenn Martin made history. He was one of the first people in the United States to fly a plane. He was also one of the first to fly a plane he'd built himself. Many other records followed, including his 66-mile flight from Balboa to Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California. In 1912, that was the longest over-water flight ever attempted. For setting all these records and working to help people appreciate flying, Martin was honored with a place in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

Just plain flying was the most fun for Martin, though. "I still remember the great thrill of becoming airborne for the first time," he wrote in a newspaper article. "There is nothing that can replace this sensation of the fruition of your fondest hopes after many months of labor."

With the money he earned barnstorming (stunt flying) and winning flying competitions, the young aviator started Glenn L. Martin Company, which built and sold airplanes.

Today, the company is called Lockheed Martin, and it makes parts for airplanes and spacecraft. Martin probably wouldn't be surprised that people not only fly around the world, but they can also fly into space. He'd certainly be proud to know his company helps them to soar to new heights.