On December 17th 1903, Orville Wright made the first powered flight in a heavier-than-air vehicle, the Wright Flyer.

This was achieved near Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright Flyer was designed by Orville and his brother Wilbur. Orville made the first successful flight whilst Wilbur ran alongside it.

The first attempt had taken place three days earlier but failed after three seconds, and the damage took three days to fix. The first flight lasted 12 seconds went 120 feet, at the awe-inspiring speed of 6.8 miles per hour. Three more flights were done that day, one more by Orville and two by Wilbur.

A total of five other people watched the flight. It was some time before any real commercial success was achieved.

Image: By John T. Daniels [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons