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The historic first flight of the legendary Wright Brothers, the flight that guided the world into the aviation age, was little more than a hop-skip-and-jump. With Orville at the controls, the famed flight lasted a mere 12 seconds, covering an uninspiring distance of 120 feet.
Despite the brevity of the flight, one fact was unmistakable. Theirs was the first controlled and sustained flight in a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine. It was a flight that would be an early step in our path to the cosmos.
The flight took place on Thursday, December 17, 1903 in the small town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They attempted three more flights that day, with the final flight- with Wilbur at the helm-carrying 852 feet and lasting a full 59 seconds.
The Wright Brothers were bicycle makers by trade. Though neither Wilbur nor Orville had a high school diploma, they approached their obsession with scientific precision, creating their own laboratory, wind-tunnel and workshop to create what was to become the first successful airplane.
Their achievements are best summed up in the words below, taken from the plaque in their honor at the Smithsonian Institution…BY ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH THE WRIGHT BROTHERS DISCOVERED THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN FLIGHT AS INVENTORS, BUILDERS, AND FLYERS THEY FURTHER DEVELOPED THE AEROPLANE, TAUGHT MAN TO FLY, AND OPENED THE ERA OF AVIATION.
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