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Wright Flyer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wright Brothers | Military Use of the AirplaneThe Wright Flyer (often retrospectively referred to as Flyer I or 1903 Flyer) was the first successful powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, 1903 near the Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S.
The U.S. Smithsonian Institution describes the aircraft as "...the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard."[1] The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale described the 1903 flight during the 100th anniversary in 2003 as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight."[2]
Although the Wrights eventually sold the Flyer to the Army in 1909, the negotiations began years before. The Wrights first contacted the U.S. government as a customer in 1905. Because they were reluctant to share any details of their airplane, and because the government had had bad experiences with earlier would-be aircraft inventors, initial discussions went nowhere.