December 14th of 1903 was a day that soared in aviation history: on that day, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright tested for the first time their powered, heavier-than-air vehicle in flight.

The brothers Wright had been working toward manned powered flight for some time. During 1903 they put together their first engine-powered aircraft, the Flyer, at Kitty Hawk while getting practice on the glider they had built in 1902. The design of the Flyer was in fact substantially based on that of the glider, and by December 14 the brothers decided they were ready to take the Flyer for a test run.

Taking the Flyer and its launching rail to Big Kill Devil Hill, a sand dune that would provide them with a gravity-assisted takeoff, the Wrights were helped by the men from the government lifesaving station located nearby. The toss of a coin decided that Wilbur would have first crack at powered flight. He managed to get the Flyer off the ground, but Wilbur stalled it and it fell to earth only three seconds later, incurring a bit of damage in the process.

The brothers worked for three days to repair the damaged Flyer, eager to get it back into the air, and then gave it another shot on December 17. This time it was Orville’s turn, and with the wind now blowing at a stiff average of more than 20 mph, the launching rail was laid on level ground to take advantage of wind instead of gravity. This time things went better: Orville kept the Flyer in the air for 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet (36.6 meters)—not even as far as the wings of a Boeing 707 stretch, according to attendees at a 2003 anniversary celebration.

Wilbur wasn’t shut out of the action, however. He and Orville took turns for a total of four short, straight flights at low altitude. Although each of them ended despite their pilots’ desire to stay aloft, the last flight, with Wilbur at the helm, lasted for 852 feet (260 meters) and took 59 seconds. That set the record for the day for sustained flight by a powered, heavier-than-air craft; the previous flights had traveled only 120, 175 and 200 feet, respectively—each a bit farther than the last, but no match for the final flight.

It turned out to be the final flight after all, however, for the Flyer. On landing, the front elevator supports broke, and although the brothers intended to fix them to try to take the Flyer four miles in the air to the village of Kitty Hawk, the wind had other plans. It gusted over the Flyer and tossed it like so much debris, doing far more damage than the hard landing had. The brothers never flew it again—but it had made history nonetheless.

PHOTO CAPTION: First successful flight of the Wright Flyer, by the Wright brothers. The machine traveled 120 ft. (36.6 m.) in 12 seconds at 10:35 AM at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

GOLDEN AGE HISTORY INSPIRED BY: SKY-BIRDS DARE by L. Ron Hubbard. The conflict between powered and motorless flight was highlighted in the air adventure tale Sky-Birds Dare. (read more…)

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