The Wright Flyer
Orville Wright

 

Orville and Wilbur Wright were bicycle mechanics with a dream, and on December 17, 1903 their dream came true when, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur kept the Wright Flyer airborne for 12 seconds, the world’s first powered flight.

Few would have believed their story without having seen the flight or this photograph, which was set up by Orville who had asked one of the men in the ground crew to press the shutter just after take-off.

It wasn’t a very long flight, just over 40 metres which is shorter than the wingspan of a 747, but it changed the world and kick-started aviation development.

 

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