On December 17, 1903, two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, brought forth one of the finest most spectacular innovations known to man. An innovation that changed the course of history for ever. Powered Flight!

Bishop Milton Wright and Susan Catharine Wright raised 4 children in their life time. Among the four were Orville and Wilbur Wright. Wilbur was born on a small farm in Millville, Indiana on April 16 1867, and Orville was born at their house in Dayton, Ohio in 1871. Even though the two brothers never graduated from high school, they soon found their way in to the business world. And in 1892 they opened their own bicycle sales and service shop where they were repairing and making their own bicycles. Soon there after, they had learned about experiments with gliders, and their infatuation with flying begun.

            In 1899 it all started, and in 1900 the Wright brothers tested their first glider in North Carolina at the sand dunes near Kitty Hawk ( which is now called the “Wrights Brother National Memorial”). The glider was a biplane design, had a wingspan of 17’5”, a surface area of 177 feet , weighed only 50 lbs, and was unmanned and operated like a kite. Unfortunately though, the glider did not survive that trip.

In July of 1901, the Wright brothers again returned, this time to Kill Devil Hills, to attempt flight once again. This version of the glider was the same in resemblance, but had a wing span of 22’ wide and 7’ deep and hade over 300 sq. ft of surface area, and weighed almost a hundred lbs. But yet, this craft still had insufficient lift. Several attempts were made, and the Wright brothers were able to reach a distance of 389 ft. The Wright brothers, discouraged and heart broken, left Kitty Hawk.

Wilbur wrote:

"When we left Kitty Hawk at the end of 1901, we doubted that we would ever resume our experiments. Although we had broken the record for distance in gliding, and although Mr. Chanute, who was present at that time, assured us that our results were better than had ever before been attained, yet when we looked at the time and money which we had expended, and considered the progress made and the distance yet to go, we considered our experiments a failure. At this time I made the prediction that men would sometime fly, but that it would not be within our lifetime."

            In 1902 the Wright brothers finally solved their problems with lift and three-axis control, which gave them the information they needed to take the air.

            After many more months of research, the Wright brothers crafted a propeller and a engine for their flyer. The Wright Flyer had a 40ft width, was 21ft long,  and had a surface of about over 650 sq. ft. and weighed a little over 600lbs. The Wright Flyer was powered by a single 4cyl engine with 12 hp that turned 2 chain driven pusher propellers.

         After a few more months of preflight testing, the Wright Flyer was finally ready to take the air. They built a moveable track  on the side of a hill to assist in generating enough speed to launch the aircraft, and after a few weather delays, it was time. On December 14^th 1903, a coin toss between the brothers gave Wilbur the first try a the controls. Wilbur’s attempt was unfortunately, unsuccessful, and the Flyer ended up with a broken front elevator. It took about 3 days to fix the Wright Flyer, then it was Orville’s time. Orville got in and took the controls.. With his heart pounding he started the engine. All their time, money, and sweat boiled down to what was about to happen. The flyer was lunched… And at 10:35am on December 17^th 1903 Orville, full of pride and joy, had a sustained flight for 12 seconds and 120 feet! Wilbur again tried it, and flew about 75 feet further than Orville. Wilbur flew again later that day for 52 seconds and covered a ground of 852ft. And at last! A new era is born. And the long time, but not forgotten, flight that changed the world, is upon us again. Sponsored by EAA and Ford Motor Company, on December 17^th , 2003 second Wright Flyer will be built by the AIAA volunteers and flown, commemorating the 100th anniversary flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright at Kitty Hawk, N.C.