The Wright Flyer completed the first controlled, sustained powered flight in 1903. Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, after years of experiments with gliders, propellers, and flight controls.
Orville made the first flight, traveling 120 feet in 12 seconds. Three more flights followed that day, with Wilbur’s final flight covering 852 feet in 59 seconds. The aircraft used a lightweight gasoline engine designed with help from their bicycle-shop mechanic Charles Taylor.
The Wrights’ key achievement was not simply attaching an engine to a machine. Their three-axis control system let the pilot manage roll, pitch, and yaw, making powered flight controllable. Several inventors had already built powered or gliding machines, so the phrase “first flight” can be debated if defined differently. The Wright Flyer is specifically credited with the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft.