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On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the 1903 Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve
controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. It flew forward without losing speed and landed at a point as high as that from which it started. With Orville Wright
as pilot, the airplane took off from a launching rail and flew for 12 seconds and a distance of 37 meters (120 feet). The airplane was flown three more times that day, with
Orville and his brother Wilbur alternating as pilot. The longest flight, with Wilbur at the controls, was 260 meters (852 feet) and lasted 59 seconds. The Flyer,
designed and built by the Wright brothers, was one step in a broad experimental program that began in 1899 with their first kite and concluded in 1905, when they built the
first truly practical airplane. The basic problems of mechanical flight, lift, propulsion, and control were solved in the Wright design.
Seen in the Enterprise Opening Credits
An image depicting the first flight of the Wright Flyer was contained in the library computer aboard the USS Enterprise in 2254.
TOS-R "The Cage"
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