On this day in 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first sustained, powered flight of a heavier-than-air machine under the complete control of the pilot.
The Wright brothers’ story is a wonderful example of the entrepreneurial spirit that has made America great!At Kitty Hawk for a trial run on December 14, 1903. Wilbur was piloting that day, but the plane stalled and crashed. The brothers repaired the plane, and on December 17, it was Orville’s turn to try. Orville managed to get that plane up in the air for 12 seconds! The brothers gave the plane several more tries, taking turns on who would pilot the craft. On the fourth try, Wilbur flew the plane for just under a minute.
Orville described the final trip: “At just 12 o'clock Will started on the fourth and last trip. The machine started off with its ups and downs as it had before, but by the time he had gone over three or four hundred feet he had it under much better control, and was traveling on a fairly even course. It proceeded in this manner till it reached a small hummock out about 800 feet from the starting ways, when it began its pitching again and suddenly darted into the ground.”
The rough landing damaged the plane. Matters were complicated still further when the plane rolled over in a sudden gust of wind. No more attempts could be made that day, but the brothers had accomplished an important feat! Other inventors began working to catch up with them. In the meantime, the Wright brothers sought a patent for their work. And they conducted tests that were even more successful than those flown at Kitty Hawk. For instance, they flew the first circular route in 1904. They soon achieved a military contract to build a plane.