1st Influence: The Inventors of Flight

The Wrights’ first successful flight was made on December 17, 1903. The flight was made by Orville, on the second ride, when he climbed about 10 feet into the air, landing 12 seconds later, covering a distance of 120 feet from his takeoff point. Three days before Orville’s success, Wilbur won the coin toss, determining who would take the first flight, and took the ride (in Kitty Hawk). Before taking this ride, he designed and built two blades that were mounted at the rear of the plane so the craft would be undisturbed by propeller turbulence. The blades spun in opposite directions to prevent pulling the plane to one side. Unfortunately, Wilbur rose too steeply, stalled, and plowed into the sand below.