1903

The Wright Flyer leaves the ground

Technology · Americas · United States

Orville and Wilbur Wright flew a powered, controlled, sustained heavier-than-air machine for twelve seconds at Kitty Hawk.

Why it matters

Control — roll, pitch, yaw — was their real invention, from bicycle-shop wind-tunnel data. Within one lifetime, flight went from twelve seconds to around the world and to the Moon.

People

Orville Wright · Wilbur Wright

Threads

This event sits on Transportation.

Related events

Sources

  • Encyclopædia Britannica — Wright brothers