The
Wright Flyer, also known as the
Kitty Hawk, made the first sustained flight by a manned
heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft โ an
airplane โ on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown by the
Wright brothers, it marked the beginning of the
pioneer era of aviation. The
Wright Flyer is a single-place biplane design with
anhedral (drooping) wings, front double
elevator and rear double
rudder. It used a 12-horsepower (9-kilowatt) gasoline engine powering two pusher propellers. Employing "
wing warping", it was relatively unstable and very difficult to fly. The Wright brothers flew it four times in a location south of
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The airplane flew 852 feet (260 m) on its fourth and final flight, but was damaged on landing, and minutes later was wrecked when powerful gusts blew it over. The aircraft never flew again but was shipped home and subsequently restored by Orville Wright. It was housed in the
Science Museum in London from 1928 to 1948, and is now exhibited at the
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. This photograph, taken by
John T. Daniels, a local member of the
United States Life-Saving Service, shows the
Wright Flyer seconds into its first flight in 1903.
Photograph credit: John T. Daniels; restored by Lise Broer