On what date did the Wright Flyer make its first successful powered flight?

The Wright Flyer made its first successful powered flight on December 17, 1903.

Orville and Wilbur Wright conducted the flight experiments near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, close to Kitty Hawk. The brothers made four flights that day, with Orville piloting the first. It lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet, while the longest flight reached 852 feet in 59 seconds.

The Wright Flyer was a small, fabric-covered biplane powered by a four-cylinder gasoline engine. Its importance was not only its engine but also its control system, which allowed the pilot to manage roll, pitch, and yaw. That three-axis approach became fundamental to practical fixed-wing aircraft.

The Wrights had already spent years testing gliders and studying aerodynamic data in a home-built wind tunnel. The Flyer was damaged by strong wind after the fourth flight and never flew again. It is now displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.