First Flight
Recorded HistoryFirst Flight
Twelve seconds in the air.
On 17 December 1903 near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers made the first sustained, controlled flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville flew 120 feet in 12 seconds.
Wilbur’s longest of four flights lasted 59 seconds and covered 852 feet.
17 December 1903, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.
- Period
- 17 December 1903
- Edition
- 1/1
- Status
- Not Released
Background artwork
Photograph by John T. Daniels, 17 December 1903. Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Cropped to the photograph, without the black margin around the print.