Born on December 17
The First Powered Flight
Twelve seconds that changed the world.
Next: December 17, 2026
Where it comes from
This Story marks the anniversary of 17 December 1903, when Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first powered, controlled flights of a heavier-than-air machine, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The brothers had spent four years on research, building and testing three full-sized gliders before their powered Flyer.
How it's celebrated
Every 17 December the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kill Devil Hills, where the flights took place, holds a free celebration with the First Flight Society, with talks, tributes and demonstrations of a replica Flyer; in some years aircraft fly over at 10:35 am, the moment of the first take-off.
Did you know
Wilbur won a coin toss to make the first attempt, on 14 December, but the Flyer stalled, so the first true flight fell to Orville three days later.
Read the full story of The First Powered Flight
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