121 years ago, on 17 December, Orville Wright at 10:35, in the “Flyer I” aircraft designed by himself and his brother Wilbur (also known as the “Wright Flyer” and “1903 Flyer”), flew a distance of 37 metres in 12 seconds and completed his flight with a successful landing!
After starting the engine, I kept it running at throttle for a few minutes to warm it up, then released the rope holding the aircraft and turned into the wind — this is how Orville recounted his extraordinary feat for those times!
On the same day, at the Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, Wilbur Wright on his fourth flight covered 260 metres in 59 seconds. Experts consider this flight to be the first true one, as the pilot was able to effectively control the aircraft.
Thanks to the experience gained during the first successful flights, the Wright brothers built subsequent flying machines with practical applications for both military and civilian purposes.
In 1904, the “Flyer II” was built, an improved version of “Flyer I”. It was equipped with a more powerful engine, an improved control system and a larger fuel tank. Tests of “Flyer II” were conducted at Huffman Prairie near Dayton, Ohio. In 1904, the Wright brothers made 105 flights, gradually extending their distances.
In 1905, they built “Flyer III”, which with a full fuel tank could stay airborne for 30 minutes. The first flight of this model took place on 23 June 1905. In 1908, “Flyer III” was rebuilt and served as the prototype for the two-seat Wright Model A. This modernised aircraft was tested between 6 and 14 May 1908 at Kitty Hawk.
The first flight with a passenger on board the Wright Model A took place on 14 May 1908, and the passenger was mechanic Charles Furnas. In 1909, the American army ordered a military version of “Flyer III”, making it the first military aircraft in history.
The film shows the Wright brothers flying in the USA, France and Italy in 1908–1909. It includes the first motion picture footage taken from an aeroplane. The film footage was created in 1938 for the Army Air Corps. Additional images come from the Wilbur and Orville Wright papers, Library of Congress. Produced by Bob Montalto, recorded by Bruce Dalzell. Edited by Kate Hagenbuch for the Engineers Club of Dayton Foundation.
©2009 Martel Art. The film is licensed under a Creative Commons licence.
