Wright Flyer - first heavier-than-air powered aircraft to fly

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Wright Flyer - first heavier-than-air powered aircraft to fly (Dec 1903)

The Wright brothers - Wilbur and Orville Wright - flew the world's first powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17th December 1903, and in the process changed the world as we know it. Their aircraft was the Wright Flyer, or the Flyer 1.

The brothers then went on to design better and more controllable aircraft, and also influenced the development of flight around the world. The Wright Flyer has been depicted on numerous stamps from all countries, and continues to be a very popular image for stamps commemorating key dates and events in the history of flight.

The original Wright Flyer is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Photos of this aircraft

Stamps depicting this aircraft

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Photos of this aircraft

The first powered, controlled, sustained airplane flight in history. Orville Wright, age 32, is at the controls of the machine, lying prone on the lower wing with hips in the cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. His brother, Wilbur Wright, age 36, ran alongside to help balance the machine, having just released his hold on the forward upright of the right wing. The starting rail, the wing-rest, a coil box, and other items needed for flight preparation are visible behind the machine. (Orville Wright preset the camera and had John T. Daniels squeeze the rubber bulb, tripping the shutter.)

Source : Wikipedia