Wright Flyer
First powered aircraft
The Wright Flyer was the first powered, heavier-than-air aircraft to achieve controlled, sustained flight.
Built by Orville and Wilbur Wright, it flew for twelve seconds at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
The term now refers broadly to the brothers' early experimental aircraft: The Wright Flyer hangs in the Smithsonian.
Aircraft with two wing levels
- wooden frameStructural timber assembly
- spruceNeat; also a conifer
- propellerRotating blades creating thrust
- chain driveLinked-loop power transmission
engine · skids · struts · wires · wingspan · airframe · gasoline engine
Early twentieth century
- aviation historyStudy of flight's development
- Kitty HawkHistoric Carolina flight site
- North CarolinaSoutheastern Atlantic coast state
- Outer BanksCoastal Carolina barrier islands
heavier-than-air · Orville · Wilbur · Smithsonian · centennial · historic site
Mechanism for vertical transport
- dragResistance through fluid
- thrustForceful forward motion
- airspeedAircraft's atmospheric velocity
- takeoffDeparture or parody
glide · headwind · sand dunes · ground effect · pitch · roll · yaw · elevator
New device or method
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- wind tunnelControlled airstream apparatus
- aerodynamicsPhysics of air motion
engineering · patent · problem-solving · experimentation · trial and error · self-taught · systematic research · ingenuity
biplane
Aircraft with two wing levels
- wooden frameStructural timber assembly
- spruceNeat; also a conifer
- propellerRotating blades creating thrust
chain drive · engine · skids · struts · wires · wingspan · airframe · gasoline engine
1903
Early twentieth century
- aviation historyStudy of flight's development
- Kitty HawkHistoric Carolina flight site
- North CarolinaSoutheastern Atlantic coast state
Outer Banks · heavier-than-air · Orville · Wilbur · Smithsonian · centennial · historic site
lift
Mechanism for vertical transport
takeoff · glide · headwind · sand dunes · ground effect · pitch · roll · yaw · elevator · rudder
invention
New device or method
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- wind tunnelControlled airstream apparatus
aerodynamics · engineering · patent · problem-solving · experimentation · trial and error · self-taught · systematic research · ingenuity · advancement
- Aviation HistoryKitty Hawk, aviation pioneers, aviation pioneer, golden age, Montgolfier brothers
- inventionsprinting press, steam engine, lightbulb, light bulb, microscope
- Early AviationKitty Hawk, biplane, glider, aviator, flying machine
- SmithsonianNational Zoo, Natural History Museum, Hope Diamond, Spirit of St. Louis, Apollo 11
- BiplanesSopwith Camel, Waco, Great Lakes
Wright Flyerglider
Unpowered flying craft
hang glider · hot air balloon · sailplane · hydrogen balloon · parachute
Wright Flyerstealth bomber
Radar-invisible attack aircraft
B-2 Spirit · F-22 Raptor · Boeing 787 · Airbus A380 · supersonic jet