December 17, 1903: A New Era in Aviation History
On Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA, the Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, made history with a 12-second flight on their aircraft, the Flyer.
Although humans had previously made numerous flights with the aid of technical devices, the Wright brothers’ flight was the first controlled flight of a powered aircraft in human history.
The dream of flying has always been a human aspiration. As early as the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci spent considerable time researching flapping wing mechanisms. Between 1799 and 1890, British Baron George Cayley established a new concept for aircraft, laying the groundwork for the field of aerodynamics.
In 1840, British inventor William Henson created an aircraft powered by steam, but the machine was unable to achieve flight.
From 1891 to 1896, German engineer Otto Lilienthal successfully conducted thousands of test flights with his self-designed glider. However, a fatal crash during a test flight led to his untimely death.
The Wright Brothers. (Photo: Dailymail)
It wasn’t until the early 20th century that humanity’s aspiration to take to the skies became a reality, and the Wright brothers were the pioneers who made this miracle happen.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, USA, Orville and Wilbur Wright dreamed of building a flying machine since childhood. Learning from the failures of their predecessors, they identified balance as the key issue in flight during their research.
After four years of experimenting with various models, from kites to unpowered gliders, the Wright brothers were finally ready to test their first powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer.
At 10:30 AM on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright became the world’s first pilot with a historic flight lasting just 12 seconds, covering a distance of 36 meters.
On the same day, the Wright brothers conducted three more flights, with the final flight, piloted by Wilbur, lasting 57 seconds and covering a distance of 256 meters.
This event marked a pivotal moment in aviation history—the first controllable powered aircraft had been created. Notably, many of the design features developed by the Wright brothers for the Flyer 1 remain useful to this day. The aircraft is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
As news of their achievements spread, the Wright brothers quickly gained fame. In 1906, they were recognized by the U.S. government and granted a patent. In subsequent years, they established the Wright Company. Wilbur Wright passed away from typhoid fever on May 30, 1912, at the young age of 45, leaving Orville to run the company alone.
After the Wright brothers’ era, the world transformed with the advent of commercial aviation. A profound revolution in transportation had begun. The world became smaller, and geographical distances seemed to exist only on maps, as air travel connected previously distant places.
The year 1913 is marked as the “glorious year in aviation history.” By this time, humans not only could fly but also began soaring and performing complex aerial maneuvers. In this year, long-distance flights were also achieved, including a route spanning 4,000 kilometers from France to Egypt.
In January 1914, commercial aviation was born with the world’s first scheduled airline service from Saint Petersburg to Tampa, Florida, USA.
In 1933, Boeing introduced the Model 247, considered the first truly modern commercial aircraft, made almost entirely of metal. The Boeing 247 was a single-fuselage, low-wing aircraft, featuring a safe landing gear system, a separated cabin, and space for 10 passengers.
Today, the aviation industry has made tremendous advancements with large, modern commercial aircraft that operate at high speeds and efficiency.
The aviation industry ranks 21st in the world in terms of GDP if considered as a nation. 0.5% of global trade volume is transported by air, accounting for 35% of the global trade value.
Each year, approximately 2.6 billion people worldwide choose air travel as their mode of transportation. The average seat occupancy rate for aircraft is 77%, significantly higher than other forms of transport.
After over a century of development, with the evolution of various modern aircraft, aviation has brought people closer together, shortening the distances between continents. All of this traces back to the fields of Kitty Hawk.
