The great engineering details of the Wright Flyer, the first motor flying machine

As yesterday was the anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight on December 17, 1903 in the Wright Flyer (also known as Flyer I) I found several references on Twitter, including one to this Learn Engineering video that explains some curious details of its Design and engineering

Part of the merit is that the Wright brothers were guys without formal education beyond the basics; in fact they worked manufacturing bicycles since they left school. Something that makes his brilliant anticipation of certain important physical problems in the design of Flyer I - which they also patented - is especially bright. Among those details are:

    The use of curved wings, high speed and increased angle of attack to generate lift.
    The two propellers turned in opposite directions to avoid the effect of gyroscopic precession, which would have made the device unmanageable.
    The propellers were long and light for more efficient propulsion.
    They calculated that an engine of at least 8 hp would be needed but should not weigh more than 90 kg. Finally they built one that provided 12 hp.
    They used aluminum for the engine, unusual material then.
    The transfer of power to the propellers was done with chains such as those of bicycles.
    They used a 20-meter plank track for take-off, a kind of "rail", to avoid excess friction that would entail rolling over the sand on Kitty Hawk's ground.
    The control of the plane was done by handling a front stabilizer with your hands; the turns were made by warping the wings (with the hip), which were also ingeniously attached to the rudder deep. The pilot was lying face down.
    The empty weight of Flyer I was 274 kg (and the maximum 338 kg). It was 6.4m long, 12.3m wide, 2.7m high and the alar surface area was 47 m².

As they say in Learn Engineering, it was "a design so complete and effective that even modern airplanes use the same basic principles to fly a century and a half later."