How The Wright Brothers Achieved The First Powered Flight In 1903

Snippets from 1908 showing the Wright Brothers’ patent plan for their airplane.

On the morning of December 17, 1903, in a very remote area in North Carolina, two seemingly normal brothers changed the world of aviation forever. Their airplane, a weak and unsturdy combination of wood, wires, and fabric, lifted up from the ground and stayed in the air for 12 seconds, covering a groundbreaking 120 feet in that time. No matter how small this may seem, that brief moment was one of humanity's greatest achievements, as it marked the first successful powered, controlled, and sustained flight. Over a 100 years later, it continues to be an important moment in the aviation industry.

Flight as a Dream

Though success was only achieved in 1903, the desire to fly very much predates that. Old myths, such as the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, discuss humans attempting to soar like birds. Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th-century sketches of flying contraptions show one of the earliest understandings of aerodynamics, but his ideas did not take flight. For centuries, it was the same thing happening over and over again: more concepts for flight but never a successful one.

However, the 19th century brought a change to this. Advances in engineering and physics inspired the next generations to turn these concepts into reality. After all, they had somewhere to start because of the works of those like Sir George Cayley, Otto Lilienthal, and Octave Chanute. These figures laid much of the groundwork for future experimenters of flight, and their testing with gliders, as well as their detailed studies of air pressure, lift, and control, would prove to be monumental. While many were close to solving the challenge of flying, a successful airplane had yet to be built.

Most people wanted to beat this challenge for fame, money, or curiosity. Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright—the Wright brothers—fell into the category of wanting to fulfill their curiosity, and this was how they ended up entering this challenge. They weren’t wealthy inventors or university-trained engineers; rather, they were self-taught mechanics with an incredible drive for learning about how things worked. Their experience operating a bicycle shop in Dayton gave them real-world experience of balance, motion, and mechanical systems, thus giving them knowledge and skills that even people with a Harvard-level education sometimes didn’t have. When it comes to the first flight, their real-world experiences were much more helpful than book education.

What Made the Wright Brothers Successful?

The Wright brothers used a different approach to flight than many of their fellow aviation experimenters. Instead of thinking of flying as a mechanical problem, they thought of it as a scientific one. To start off, they tried to use previous groundwork made by specialists in the field of aerodynamics. However, as they looked into it, they realized that key parts of this “groundwork” were inaccurate, especially the studies about lift coefficients and air pressure. To correct this, they built a small wind tunnel and conducted hundreds of controlled experiments, testing different wing designs and angles. This meticulous research allowed them to produce some of the most accurate aerodynamic data ever collected up to that point in time.

By 1903, after years of testing gliders, the Wright brothers were ready to build a powered aircraft. They designed their own lightweight gasoline engine and paired it with two wooden propellers, which they individually carved and tested for efficiency. The result was the Wright Flyer, a 605-pound biplane with a wingspan of 40 feet and a frame of spruce and muslin.

The First Flight

A photo showing Orville Wright taking off in the Wright Flyer, marking the first successful attempt at powered flight in history.

The two brothers chose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, as their testing ground, since it has steady winds and soft sand for landing. In addition, the area is quite isolated, so there are fewer obstacles, distractions, and media coverage. They lived in a small camp nearby, and although there were problems with the airplane and very harsh weather initially, they didn’t give up.

Their luck changed on December 17, 1903. The wind speed was consistently at around 20 miles per hour, which was perfect for generating lift. To decide which brother would fly first, they had a coin toss, which Orville won. At 10:35 a.m., lying flat on the lower wing to reduce drag, he released the restraining wire, and the airplane moved forward along its wooden rail track. After around 40 feet, the plane lifted off from the track, wobbled slightly, and stayed airborne for 12 seconds, traveling 120 feet before hitting the ground again.

Over the next few hours, the brothers made three more flights, taking turns at the controls. The final flight, piloted by Wilbur, lasted 59 seconds and covered 852 feet. Each attempt demonstrated greater control and confidence for the two brothers. There was an attempt at a fourth flight, but it ended abruptly when a gust of wind overturned the aircraft and destroyed it. On this day, the Wright Brothers undeniably achieved one of the greatest feats in human history: stable, powered flight.

Key Takeaways

Today, their aircraft, the Wright Flyer, is preserved at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The principles and ideas developed by the Wright brothers play a role not only in modern airplanes, but also in drones, spacecraft, and even underwater vehicles.

The Wright brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk may have been brief, but that doesn’t change its impact on the world. In the 12 seconds it was airborne, it bridged a gap that had separated humans from the skies for millennia. They created new forms of technology and transportation that will likely be used for centuries to come. The airplanes we see currently exist because of the Wright brothers. It’s important to note that many other people, both before and after the Wright brothers, have contributed to the world of aviation. However, without the Orville and Wilbur Wright themselves, we wouldn’t be experiencing the ideals of flight to the extent we do today.