On the 17th day of December 1903, two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, — Wilbur and Orville Wright — completed the first successful flights of a heavier-than-air flying machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In doing so, they set in motion the age of aviation.

It was by chance of a flip of the coin that Wilbur, the older brother, was to make the first attempt on December 14th. This first attempt proved unsuccessful, with the flyer being slightly damaged in the process. Repairs were made and a second attempt was set for December 17th. To keep things fair, it was now Orville’s turn. The Flyer lifted off the beach at Kitty Hawk at 10:35 a.m., traveling 120 feet for a twelve-second flight. They had achieved success! The second flight, completed by Wilbur, and the third flight, completed by Orville, each covered a distance of approximately two hundred feet. But the fourth flight of the morning, piloted by Wilbur, lasted 59 seconds and covered a distance of 852 feet. If there had been any question as to the achievement of powered flight, this final long, sustained effort removed any doubt.

[As the Orville, Wilbur and the others present discussed the long flight, a gust of wind overturned the Wright Flyer and sent it tumbling across the sand. The aircraft was severely damaged and never flown again.]

In 1904, they built their second powered Flyer and were able to sustain flight for over five minutes. It was during this flight they were able to develop techniques that allowed them to control the aircraft while doing turns and circles.

In 1905, the Wright brothers built and flew their third flyer. It was the world’s first practical powered flyer, capable of performing banking maneuvers, circling, and flying figures of eight.

On December 5, 1907 Wilbur Wright appeared at a hearing before the U.S. Army Ordnance Board and stated that he could furnish a heavier-than-air flying machine for the price of $25,000.

On December 23rd, 1907, the Signal Corps Specification Number 486 was issued to provide the U.S. Army with its first heavier-than-air aircraft-the first military aircraft in the world. The order read:

“Sealed proposals in duplicate will be received at this office until 12 o’clock noon on February 1, 1908, on behalf of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification for furnishing the Signal Corps with a heavier-than-air flying machine.”

The general requirements continued as follows: that it be designed to be easily assembled and disassembled so that an army wagon could transport it; that it be able to carry two people with a combined weight of 350 pounds, and sufficient fuel for 125 miles; that it be able to reach a speed of at least 40 mph in still air, which would be calculated during a two-lap test flight over a 5-mile course, with and against the wind; that it demonstrate the ability to remain in the air at least one hour without landing, and that it then land without causing any damage that would prevent it from immediately starting another flight; that it be able to ascend in any sort of country in which the Signal Corps might need it in field service and be able to land without requiring a specially prepared spot; that it be able to land safely in case of accident to the propelling machinery; and that it be simple enough to permit someone to become proficient in its operation within a reasonable amount of time.

The purchase price was set at $25,000 with 10 percent added for each full mile-per-hour of speed over the required 40 mph and 10 percent deducted for each full mile-per-hour under 40 mph.

Forty-one bids were submitted; however, on a personal directive from President Theodore Roosevelt, the U.S. government contracted Orville and Wilbur Wright to produce a flying machine for the Army.

The Wright brothers constructed for the project a two-place, wire-braced biplane with a Wright 30-hp, four-cylinder engine driving two wooden propellers. It had a wooden framework, with fabric-covered wings and control surfaces. Wooden skids served as landing gear.

This aircraft was transported to Fort Meyer, Virginia, where it made its first demonstration flight at the parade grounds on September 3, 1908. Several days of
very successful and increasingly ambitious flights followed. On September 17, however, tragedy occurred. At 5:14 p.m. Orville took off with his passenger, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge. The flying machine had circled the field four and one half times when a propeller blade shattered. The aircraft, then at 150 feet, safely glided to 75 feet before stalling, and plunged to the earth. Orville received several injuries, including a broken hip, but Lieutenant Selfridge was killed and the aircraft was destroyed. [Lt. Selfridge became the first person killed in an air crash].

On June 3rd, 1909, the Wright brothers returned to Fort Meyer with a new machine. The engine was the same as in the 1908 aircraft, but the 1909 model had a smaller wing area with modifications to the rudder and the wiring. Lt. Frank P. Lahm and Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois, as future Army pilots, were the Wrights’ passengers.

Flights continued into July. During one of these demonstrations, a sudden stalling of the engine caused the aircraft to glide into a tree, breaking the skids and ripping a wing. However, the damage was repaired in four hours, showing a great advantage for military purposes.

On July 26th President Taft went to Fort Meyer to watch the proceedings and was privileged to witness the aircraft ascend under its own power without use of the starting weight. A strong head wind assisted its takeoff with Wilbur running alongside to guide it.

The next day the aircraft satisfied the endurance requirement with a record flight of 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds, covering approximately 40 miles in the process.

A course to establish the speed of the aircraft was set up from Fort Myer to Shooter’s Hill in Alexandria, Virginia, a distance of 5 miles. For the final acceptance flight, Orville Wright chose Lt. Foulois to be his passenger because he was short, slender and could read a map. After waiting several days for optimum wind conditions, Orville and Lt. Foulois made the 10-mile test flight on July 30th. The outbound lap speed was 37.735 mph and the return lap was 47.431 mph, giving an average speed of 42.583 mph. For the 2 mph over the required forty, the Wright brothers earned an additional $5,000.

On August 2nd, at the conclusion of the testing, the U.S Army accepted Army Aeroplane No. 1 from the Wilbur Wright.

On October 8th, Lt. Frederic E. Humphreys and Lt. Lahm began formal flight training at College Park, Maryland, each soloing on October 26th. Lt. Foulois began his training with Wilbur Wright on October 20th. Other training flights continued during the year at College Park.

On November 11th, 1909, Army Aeroplane No.1 was moved to the balloon hangar at Fort Myer. In early 1910, it then spent two weeks at the Electrical Trade Expedition in Chicago. Army Aeroplane finally arrived at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in February 1910. While there, Lt. Foulois completed his flight training by mail correspondence with the Wright brothers.

In 1911, the War Department turned over the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, Army Aeroplane No. 1, to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remains today.