We could all learn to problem solve if we studied the methods of the Wright brothers.
I give props to Orville and Wilbur. 
I learned a valuable lesson from them: Sometimes you’re better off being too stupid to listen to everyone who knows you can’t do something.
Except quite a few people who mattered (Curtis, Langley, Santos-Dumont) knew you could do it, they just couldn’t figure out HOW.
Sorry if that came across a bit snippy, Philster, but it’s just that I want to give MORE props to the Wrights, because it’s more a question of being smart enough to take a look at a failed “obvious or standard” answer and see that there was a failure of nerve/imagination.
And I’m sure that in a few of the airplanes that will be at the end of a runway, revving for T/O at 10:35 EST, Your Captain Speaking will make the necessary announcement. You can only hope there’ll be some youth sitting in a coach seat at that time who’ll take it to heart.
I refer all to this more succesfull thread on the Wright Bros.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229784
But to reply…yes, they’re were damn smart. You don’t get problem solving skills like they had by accident. You might not be able to learn how to be as smart as they were, but you can learn the lesson I mentioned.