Trivia: Who flew the first airplane?


Answer: The Wright Brothers.

The Wright Brothers, Orville, and Wilbur were two American aviators, inventors, and aviation pioneers of the United States. They are generally credited with inventing and building the world’s first practical airplane and making the first human flight on December 17, 1903.

They made the first controlled powered flight from Kitty Hawk in North Carolina with a picture showing Orville at the controls. The flight lasted only 12 seconds and covered 38 m (125 ft).

The first man to fly was not the Wright brothers’ first attempt. They had constructed kites that would stay aloft from 1883-1895 before reaching their flight goal.

In 1903, they made a powered glider that flew previously, but then they made an engine. The fact that the first man to fly was not the Wright Brothers’ first attempt is significant because people who were not believers of their feat don’t believe it because it wasn’t their first attempt.

With the development of the first Wright Flyer of 1903, they solved 3 critical problems of human flight:

  • Controlled equilibrium in maneuvers;
  • The ability to steer and maintain a course; and finally,
  • Lift sufficient to carry a man.

The fact that the first man to fly was not the Wrights’ first attempt is important because it shows how many times before they almost got it right. It shows how they just needed to fix something small before reaching the big picture.

The Wrights made mistakes in their experiments, but you have to make some mistakes when you’re learning. They realized what not to do in their future attempts to be easier for the next time. For example, before the Wrights’ first flight, they tested their aircraft with dummy weights to see if it would flip over. They realized that this was not good, so they flew it lighter next time.

On December 17th, 1903, Orville Wright began his time in the history books with a 12-second flight over the dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C., making him the first man to fly a powered aircraft carrying a passenger successfully.

The Wrights sought funding from different sources and used many different ways to apply for a patent. They were not successful at getting a patent for their wing design, and in 1892 they tried to sell an airplane, but nobody was interested.

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