1903: Wright Brothers’ First Flight
That very brief flight took place over a Kitty Hawk, NC, beach on Dec. 17, 1903, and was the culmination of several years of work and experimentation by the two Ohio-based brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright. Their “Flyer” was not the first flying machine, but it was the first one that could be controlled while in the air.
The 1903 Flyer was a skeletal flying machine built of spruce, ash and muslin, with a wingspan of 40 feet, 4 inches and a weight of just over 605 pounds.
It was ready for flight on Dec. 14, but the first attempt was a failure. Three days later, at about 10:35 AM on Dec. 17, the Flyer finally took off. Orville was able to fly for 12 breathtaking seconds, going a distance of 120 feet, less than the wingspan of a modern Boeing 747.
The Wright brothers flew the plane three more times that morning. On the fourth flight the Flyer was damaged and the most important day in aviation history came to an end.