Imagine if the Wright brothers had to contend with the same level of government regulation we have today. First they would run into zoning issues since their shop wasn't zoned for aircraft production facilities. Second, OSHA would be hounding them for alleged workplace safety violations. Lastly it would take years of permits from multiple state and federal agencies for approval to conduct their flight experiments at Kitty Hawk.
In the meantime Prof. Langley at the Smithsonian would have received millions in government loans because of his connections to the White House, never succeeded in producing a successful flying machine but paid himself a large bonus before his flying machine company went bankrupt.