The aircraft used for the Wright brothers' first sustained powered flight was the Wright Flyer.
The Wright Flyer made its historic flight near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Orville Wright piloted the first successful flight, which lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. The brothers made three more flights that day, with Wilbur piloting the longest one at 852 feet.
The machine was a single-engine, single-place biplane with two pusher propellers. Its 12-horsepower gasoline engine was designed with help from mechanic Charles Taylor. The Wrights controlled the aircraft using wing warping, a system that changed the shape of the wings to roll the airplane.
The aircraft is also known as Flyer I, the 1903 Flyer, or the Kitty Hawk. The name “Kitty Hawk” is commonly used because the Wrights' telegram and early reports associated the flights with the nearby town, although the actual launch site was at Kill Devil Hills. The damaged Flyer never flew again after that day.