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The First Airplane Flight |
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The First Airplane Flight 1903-Orville and Wilbur Wright-History
Wright Flyer in Flight Orville Wright mans the controls of the Wright Flyer in 1908, five years after he made the world’s first successful, sustained flight. The Wright brothers’ experiments with heavier-than-air flight had launched Flyer I on December 17, 1903 near Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The first flight lasted about 12 seconds, and the plane traveled 36.5 m (120 ft) at an altitude of roughly 3 m (9.9 ft) and an airspeed of 48 km/h (30 mi/h). Wilbur Wright made a longer, 59-second flight later on the same day. (The First Airplane Flight 1903-Orville and Wilbur Wright-History) American aviators Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright of Dayton, Ohio, are considered the fathers of the first successful piloted heavier-than-air flying machine. Through the disciplines of sound scientific research and engineering, the Wright brothers put together the combination of critical characteristics that other designs of the day lacked-a relatively lightweight (337 kg/750 lb), powerful engine; a reliable transmission and efficient propellers; an effective system for controlling the aircraft; and a wing and structure that were both strong and lightweight. (The First Airplane Flight 1903-Orville and Wilbur Wright-History) HISTORIC HEADLINESWright Flies for Over Hour In September 1908, five years after Kitty Hawk, American aeronautical engineer Orville Wright made a series of demonstration flights for the Army Signal Corps at Fort Myer, Virginia. This was the first time that military leaders had contemplated the strategic value of the airplane. On September 9, Wright set a new record for a heavier-than-air craft with a sustained flight of more than one hour. This Los Angeles Times article describes Wright’s record-breaking flight and the reactions of the army officers and United States Cabinet members who were in attendance. (The First Airplane Flight 1903-Orville and Wilbur Wright-History) At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first successful flight of a piloted, heavier-than-air, self-propelled craft, called the Flyer. That first flight traveled a distance of about 37 m (120 ft). The distance was less than the wingspan of many modern airliners, but it represented the beginning of a new age in technology and human achievement. Their fourth and final flight of the day lasted 59 seconds and covered only 260 m (852 ft). The third Flyer, which the Wrights constructed in 1905, was the world’s first fully practical airplane. It could bank, turn, circle, make figure eights, and remain in the air for as long as the fuel lasted, up to half an hour on occasion. (The First Airplane Flight 1903-Orville and Wilbur Wright-History) |
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