On what date did the Wright Flyer make its first powered flight in North Carolina?

The Wright Flyer made its first powered flight on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright conducted four flights that day at Kill Devil Hills. Orville piloted the first flight, which lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. The fourth and longest flight, piloted by Wilbur, traveled 852 feet in 59 seconds.

The Wright Flyer was a single-seat biplane powered by a 12-horsepower gasoline engine. Its crucial innovation was not merely engine power but practical control: the brothers developed a three-axis system using wing warping, a movable rudder, and an elevator.

The aircraft was badly damaged by strong wind after the fourth flight and never flew again. Orville later restored it. The Flyer is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., after a long dispute between Orville Wright and the Smithsonian Institution over recognition of the historic machine.