First flight in an airplane is undertaken

Date: 17 Dec 1903
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

On the morning of 17 December 1903, brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright succeeded in the world's first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine under complete control of the pilot. The brothers took turns piloting and monitoring their flying machine at Kitty Hawk, 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. Orville piloted the first flight, lasting only twelve seconds. On the fourth and final flight of the day, Wilbur remained airborne for fifty-nine seconds and travelled 852 feet. The brothers had begun experimenting with flight in 1896. They had to design and build their own engine for the plane since they couldn’t find one that was both light enough and powerful enough for their needs.

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How we know this

01Eye witness to history The Wright Brothers - First Flight, 1903 [online] Available at: www.eyewitnesstohistory.com [Accessed on 28 October 2013]
02Memory Loc Wilbur and Orville Wright Timeline, 1867 – 1948 [Online] Available at: https://memory.loc.gov [Accessed on 28 October 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, December 3). First flight in an airplane is undertaken. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096720

South African History Online (2013) 'First flight in an airplane is undertaken', South African History Online, 3 December. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096720 (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

South African History Online, First flight in an airplane is undertaken [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096720, (accessed 28 July 2026).

"First flight in an airplane is undertaken." South African History Online, 3 Dec. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096720. Accessed 28 July 2026.

South African History Online. "First flight in an airplane is undertaken." South African History Online. December 3, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096720.