Skip to content

Search

The Wright Flyer Makes the First Powered Aeroplane Flight · Chronopin

AerospacePosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 4:55 am·@BuildDesk To timeline

Wright Cycle Company

The Wright Flyer Makes the First Powered Aeroplane Flight

The Wright Flyer Makes the First Powered Aeroplane Flight

Starts 12/17/1903

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA

Tags

Kill Devil Hills
Kitty Hawk
Wright Brothers
Wright Flyer

Comments

Happened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: the Flyer "made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft on December 17, 1903."

Start: Dec 17, 190390% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

The Wright Flyer Makes the First Powered Aeroplane Flight

Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds over the sand at Kill Devil Hills, the first sustained flight by a manned, powered, controlled heavier-than-air aircraft. The brothers flew four times that day; Wilbur’s fourth and last covered 852 feet in 59 seconds.

The Wright Flyer made the first sustained flight by a manned, powered, controlled heavier-than-air aircraft on 17 December 1903.^[1]
Orville took the controls because Wilbur had used the first attempt three days earlier; his flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet.^[1]
The brothers flew four times, taking turns; the second and third runs covered 175 and 200 feet, and Wilbur’s fourth flight took 59 seconds to cover 852 feet.^[1]
The wind averaged more than 20 mph, so the launching rail was laid on level ground near camp instead of on the slope of Big Kill Devil Hill.^[1]
The aircraft was damaged on landing and wrecked minutes later when gusts blew it over; it never flew again and is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum.^[1]

Notable features

The Flyer was a single-seat canard biplane with a double elevator in front and a double rudder behind; the pilot lay prone on the lower wing and steered with a hip cradle that warped the wings and turned the rudder together.^[1]
It had a wingspan of 40 ft 4 in (12.29 m), a wing area of 510 sq ft (47 m²) and a length of 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m), and weighed 605 lb (274 kg) empty.^[1]
The airframe was spruce for straight members such as the spars and ash for the curved ribs, covered in cotton muslin.^[1]
Their employee Charlie Taylor built the 12 hp (9 kW) gasoline engine, weighing 180 lb (82 kg); bicycle-style sprocket chains drove two 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) pusher propellers, for a top speed of about 30 mph (48 km/h).^[1]

0

References 290% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer
en.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts Dec 17, 1903 ✓· 50% of score
Happened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org: the Flyer "made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft on December 17, 1903."
[2]90%
1903 Wright Flyer
airandspace.si.edu· Added Sep 21, 2026· 50% of score
The Smithsonian’s record for the actual aircraft, confirming the 12-second, 120 ft first flight with Orville piloting and Wilbur’s 852 ft best of the day.^[1]

Suggest a correction

Something missing or wrong? Say it in your own words: a link that backs this pin up, a different start or end date and why, or a fact it lacks or gets wrong. The AI checks it against this pin's sources, searches for better ones, and adds any page that backs you up. The pin's own sources still count most.

Comments

Thread

Respond to this Pin

1The Wright Flyer Makes the First Powered Aeroplane Flight

More like this

Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
The Heinkel He 178 Makes the First Turbojet-Powered Flight
Heinkel Marienehe factory airfield, Rostock-Schmarl, GermanyHeinkel
Starts 08/27/1939CONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE87.1 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "On 27 August 1939, the He 178 V1, the first prototype, performed its maiden flight, piloted by Erich Warsitz."
Erich Warsitz flew the He 178 V1 for six minutes from Heinkel’s Marienehe factory airfield at Rostock, the first aircraft ever to fly on the thrust of a turbojet. The undercarriage would not retract and the landing was made by side-slipping.
0.74
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
The Boeing 747 Makes Its First Flight
Paine Field, Everett, Washington, USABoeing Commercial Airplanes…
Starts 02/09/1969CONFIRMED 81% CONFIDENCE57.6 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "The 747’s first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December 1969."
The first Jumbo Jet flew from Paine Field with test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle at the controls. Despite a minor flap problem the flight confirmed the 747 handled well and was largely immune to the Dutch roll that had plagued early swept-wing jets.
0.73
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
The Airbus A300 Prototype Makes Its Maiden Flight
Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, FranceAirbus
Starts 10/28/1972CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE53.9 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: the first prototype "conducted its maiden flight from Toulouse–Blagnac International Airport on 28 October that year."
Airbus’ first aircraft and the world’s first twin-engine wide-body airliner flew from Toulouse–Blagnac a month ahead of schedule, for one hour and 25 minutes, with Max Fischl as captain and Bernard Ziegler as first officer.
0.72
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
Concorde Makes Its First Flight From Toulouse
Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, FranceSud Aviation
Starts 03/02/1969CONFIRMED 83% CONFIDENCE57.6 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "Construction of six prototypes began in February 1965, with the first flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969."
The Anglo-French supersonic airliner, built by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation under a 1962 treaty, flew for the first time from Toulouse. Four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 turbojets drove an ogival delta wing carrying 92 to 128 passengers.
0.72
Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk
DLR's HY4 Completes Its First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Flight
Stuttgart Airport, Stuttgart, GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR)
Starts 09/29/2016CONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE10.0 years agoDLR's^[3] own press release and the EAA both date HY4's first official flight to September 29, 2016.
The German Aerospace Center's HY4, the world's first four-seat aircraft powered solely by a hydrogen fuel cell, made its first flight from Stuttgart Airport on September 29, 2016. The Future of Flight features it as a real prototype for zero-emission aviation.
0.72
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
The Bell X-1 Breaks the Sound Barrier Over the Mojave
Muroc Army Air Field, Mojave Desert, California, USABell Aircraft
Starts 10/14/1947CONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE78.9 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "The first manned supersonic flight occurred on 14 October 1947, over the Mojave Desert in California."
Captain Chuck Yeager, drop-launched from a B-29 over the Mojave Desert, took X-1 #46-062 "Glamorous Glennis" to Mach 1.06 – the first piloted aeroplane to exceed the speed of sound in level flight. It was XS-1 flight number 50.
0.72
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
The Airbus A380 Makes Its First Flight
Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, FranceAirbus
Starts 04/27/2005CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE21.4 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: the first prototype was "unveiled in Toulouse, France on 18 January 2005, commencing its first flight on 27 April 2005."
F-WWOW, the first of the only full-length double-deck jet airliner ever built, flew from Toulouse–Blagnac with a crew of six under chief test pilot Jacques Rosay, who said handling it was "like handling a bicycle".
0.69
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
NASA’s X-59 Flies Supersonic for the First Time
Edwards Air Force Base, California, USANASA
Starts 06/05/2026 6:08PMCONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE110 days agoHappened as dated, per nasa.gov^[1][3][4]: the X-59 "marked a major milestone Friday, June 5, when it flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time."
The quiet supersonic demonstrator reached Mach 1.1 and 43,400 feet on an 81-minute flight from Edwards Air Force Base, the first time it exceeded the speed of sound. A NASA F-15 chase plane flew alongside, its own booms drowning out anything the X-59 made.
0.68
Aerospace09/21/2026@BuildDesk
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Makes Its Maiden Flight
Paine Field, Everett, Washington, USABoeing Commercial Airplanes…
Starts 12/15/2009 6:27PMCONFIRMED2.5 years late82% CONFIDENCE16.8 years agoHappened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "On December 15, 2009, Boeing conducted the 787-8 maiden flight from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10:27 am PST."
N787BA lifted off from Paine Field at 10:27 am PST and landed three hours later at Boeing Field, reaching 180 knots and 13,200 feet. The first airliner with a primarily composite airframe flew more than two years later than Boeing first promised.
0.67
Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Boeing Completes the Maiden Flight of Its Model 314 Clipper
Elliott Bay, Seattle, Washington, USABoeing…
Starts 06/07/1938CONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE88.3 years agoHistoryLink.org^[3] and the Museum of Flight both date the maiden flight to June 7, 1938.
Boeing's Model 314 Clipper flying boat made its 38-minute first flight over Puget Sound, piloted by test pilot Eddie Allen. The giant flying boat went on to open Pan Am's first non-stop transatlantic passenger service.
0.67
Aerospace09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Antonov An-124 Ruslan Makes Its First Flight
Kyiv, UkraineAntonov
Starts 12/26/1982CONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE43.7 years agoWikipedia's^[3] Antonov An-124 Ruslan article states the prototype's first flight took place on 26 December 1982.
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan, still one of the largest cargo aircraft ever built, first flew over Kyiv on 26 December 1982, years before it entered airline service.
0.66
Aerospace09/14/2026@BuildDesk
Pathfinder 1 Flies Over San Francisco Bay
Moffett Federal Airfield, Mountain View, California, USALTA Research
Starts 05/15/2025CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE1.4 years agoLTA Research's own update and IEEE Spectrum both date the first flight over San Francisco Bay to 15 May 2025: 'On 15 May, startup LTA Research flew its Pathfinder 1 airship outside Silicon Valley's Moffett Federal Airfield for the first time.'^[1]
LTA Research's Pathfinder 1, the largest aircraft in the world, flew beyond its Moffett Field base in California and over San Francisco Bay for the first time on 15 May 2025 - the first rigid airship of its size to fly since the 1930s. Its larger successor, Pathfinder 3, is being built in the century-old Goodyear Akron Airdock.
0.66