The Flight at Kitty Hawk

“I only I could fly…”  For centuries mankind could only watch and dream as birds soared effortlessly above the earth.  Eager inventors produced an amazing array of winged flying machines.  But it wasn’t until December 17, 1903 that—for the first time—a heavier-than-air craft took off, made a sustained flight, and landed safely.  The biplane, designed and built by American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, was powered by a four-cylinder, 12-HP engine.  It flew a distance of 120 feet in 12 seconds.