The First Airplane Flight

American aviators¹ Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright of Dayton, Ohio, are considered the fathers of the first successful piloted heavier-than-air flying machine. Through the disciplines of sound scientific research and engineering, the Wright brothers put together the combination of critical characteristics that other designs of the day lacked—a relatively² lightweight(重量轻的) (337 kg/750 lb), powerful engine; a reliable transmission and efficient propellers³; an effective system for controlling the aircraft; and a wing and structure that were both strong and lightweight.

At Kitty Hawk⁴, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first successful flight of a piloted, heavier-than-air, self-propelled craft, called the Flyer. That first flight traveled a distance of about 37 m (120 ft). The distance was less than the wingspan of many modern airliners⁵, but it represented the beginning of a new age in technology and human achievement. Their fourth and final flight of the day lasted 59 seconds and covered only 260 m (852 ft). The third Flyer, which the Wrights constructed in 1905, was the world’s first fully⁶ practical airplane. It could bank(倾斜转弯), turn, circle, make figure eights, and remain in the air for as long as the fuel lasted, up to half an hour on occasion.