WRIGHT BROS MAKE HISTORY AT KITTY HAWK
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (JFK+50) 110 years ago this morning, December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright* made the first airplane flight here in Kitty Hawk. Their flying machine, powered by a 25 horsepower engine, began its flight at 10:35 a.m. and traveled at a speed of 6.8 m.p.h. It lasted 12 seconds and flew a distance of 120 feet.
According to Eyewitness to History...
"The distance covered...was less than the wingspan of a modern 747 Jumbo Jet."
At 11:20 a.m., a 2nd flight was made at 10 feet above the ground and a distance of 175 feet. The 3rd and final flight of the day came at 11:40 a.m.
Orville Wright once said...
"We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to...pursue intellectual interests; to investigate what ever aroused curiosity."
*Orville Wright (1871-1948) & Wilbur Wright (1867-1912). Orville was born in Dayton, Ohio and Wilbur was born near Millville, Indiana. The brothers opened a bicycle repair shop in 1892 and later began building their own bikes.
They went to Kitty Hawk in 1900 to experiment in manned gliding and there on Dec. 14, 1903, Wilbur's attempt to fly a motorized, propeller-driven aircraft failed.
SOURCES
The Wright Flyer^
Air & Space Museum
Photo by RadioFan (2008)
^The Wright Flyer is the first powered heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot on board. It is on display at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
