History of the Airplane

The dream of flying is as old as mankind itself. However, the concept of the airplane has only been around for two centuries. Before that time, men and women tried to navigate the air by imitating the birds. They built machines with flapping wings called ornithopters. On the surface, it seemed like a good plan. After all, there are plenty of birds in the air to show that the concept does work.	Click on a picture to enlarge it. An ornithopter -- it's every bit as impractical as it looks.
The trouble is, it works better at bird-scale than it does at the much larger scale needed to lift both a man and a machine off the ground. So folks began to look for other ways to fly. Beginning in 1783, a few aeronauts made daring, uncontrolled flights in lighter-than-air balloons, but this was hardly a practical way to fly. There was no way to get from here to there unless the wind was blowing in the desired direction.	An early balloon.
It wasn’t until the turn of the nineteenth century that an English baronet from the gloomy moors of Yorkshire conceived a flying machine with fixed wings, a propulsion system, and movable control surfaces. This was the fundamental concept of the airplane. Sir George Cayley also built the first true airplane — a kite mounted on a stick with a movable tail. It was crude, but it proved his idea worked, and from that first humble glider evolved the amazing machines that have taken us to the edge of space at speeds faster than sound. This wing of the museum focuses on the history of the airplane, from its conception in 1799 to our hopes for its future. Because we are a museum of early aviation, we don’t spend a great deal of time on those years after Orville Wright closed the doors of the Wright Company in 1916. We concentrate on the development of the airplane before World War I, when flying machines were odd contraptions of stick, cloth, and wire; engines were temperamental and untrustworthy; and pilots were never quite sure whether they’d be able to coax their machine into the air or bring it down in one piece.	Sir George Cayley's 1799 design for an airplane -- fixed wings for lift, a movable tail for control, and rows of "flappers" beneath the

Orville and Wilbur Wright

After studying Lilienthal and Cayley, the Wright brothers flew their first gliders in 1899. In 1900 they went to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina to pursue the glider experiments. Orville and Wilbur became master glider builders and experts on wing aerodynamics through numerous experiments in a wind tunnel. Through their wind tunnel test, they found an error in Otto Lilienthal's lift formulas. They also discovered that the symmetrical curve of Lilenthal's wing was unstable and improved it by placing the apex of the curve about 1/4 distance back from the leading edge.

While unpowered gliding had been accomplished previously, the Wright brothers took it a step further and desired to build a glider with an engine. They contacted several of the automobile manufacturers to see if they would build them an 8-horsepower motor that weighed less than 200 lbs. Unfortunately for the Wright brothers, none of the automobile companies had time for a special project that would provide no profit.

After being turned down by the automobile industry, the brothers had no choice but to build their own engine. They asked their bicycle mechanic, Charles E. Taylor, for assistance. Charles was operating the Wright's bicycle shop in Dayton Ohio while the brothers were experimenting in North Carolina. In just six weeks, Taylor had completed their 12 horsepower engine with four cylinders, a 4" bore, and a stroke length of 4". The engine weighed 162 pounds. During the first two attempts to test the engine with the propeller attached, the shaft of the propeller broke due to engine vibration. Orville solved the problem by using stronger materials in the propeller.



1903 First Flight

After four years of experimenting with gliding and wind tunnels, the two mounted the engine upon the specially designed glider that would later become known as the 'Wright Flyer'. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted a 12 second powered flight while covering a distance of 120 feet (33.6 meters). Wilbur took the controls for the second flight and flew for about 175 feet (53 meters). For the third flight, Orville piloted the aircraft for 200 feet (61 meters). Alternating turns, Wilbur was back in the cockpit and flew for 800 feet (244 meters) when the frame began bucking which caused the aircraft to plummet to the ground. Total distance covered in the fourth flight was 852 feet (260 meters) in 59 seconds. The unexpected plunge damaged the front rudder and shut down flight operations for the day. These flights are disputably known as the first heavier-than-air flights to demonstrate controlled sustained manned powered flight.

The Wright Brothers were exponential in bringing attention to aviation by their numerous public displays of powered gliding. Over the years, the Wright brothers had more than 700 successful flights to their credit in the United States and Europe. The success enjoyed by the Wright brothers was largely attributed to their master mechanic abilities and their attention to detail. Most of their mechanical abilities were gained from the jointly owned bicycle shop that they operated in Dayton, Ohio before becoming glider architects.

Orville Wright (b1871-d1948)	Wilbur Wright (b1867-d1912)
Photo Credits: NASA Langley Research Center

The First US Air Show - The Air Meets of 1910

Soon after the Reims Air Meet of August 1909, three major airshows occurred in the United States that profoundly affected the future of American aviation. In Los Angeles, Boston, and New York, large crowds turned out to see their first actual aircraft. Several pilots set new records in a variety of events at each of the meets, and spectators got to view some dazzling aerial stunts. The first American airshows created, as some scholars note, a sense of "air awareness" among those who attended them. Many spectators were suddenly conscious not only of the airplane's entertainment value but also some of its utilitarian potential. Notably, the U.S. air meets of 1910 also motivated several would-be pilots, many who would become key figures during the early exhibition era of aviation, to learn to fly.

Ralph Johnstone, a member of the Wright exhibition team, set a world record for altitude, climbing to 9,712 feet in his Model B at Belmont Park. He consistently competed against Arch Hoxsey to set new records. Johnstone died in November 1910 in Denver while putting on a demonstration flight.

The first major U.S. airshow took place at Dominguez Field, just south of Los Angeles, from January 10-20, 1910. The key participants included Glenn Curtiss (the American hero who had won the prestigious Gordon Bennett Cup race at Reims), Charles Hamilton (a future American daredevil aviator), Lincoln Beachey (who was still flying dirigibles at that time, but who would become America's greatest early exhibition pilot), and Louis Paulhan (a Frenchman who had started working in a military balloon factory and eventually taught himself to fly).

Paulhan dominated the Dominguez meet. First, he set a new flight endurance record by carrying a passenger almost 110 miles (177 kilometres) in his Farman biplane in 1 hour, 49 minutes. Then he went on to achieve a new altitude mark of approximately 4,164 feet (1,269 meters). He also performed several aerial feats during the week, and near the end of the show, carried U.S. Army Lieutenant Paul Beck aloft to perform one of the first aerial bomb dropping tests, using weights to simulate the bombs. Overall, Paulhan ruled the skies over Los Angeles, winning as much as $19,000 in prize money.

Although the Frenchman dominated the Los Angeles meet, spectators could celebrate at least a couple of American victories. Glenn Curtiss set a new air speed record of approximately 55 miles per hour (89 kilometres per hour), and took home the prize for the best quick start. In all, he won approximately $6,500.

The Dominguez Air Meet was highly successful. Spectator turnout numbered somewhere between a quarter and a half-million people. The Los Angeles Times called it "one of the greatest public events in the history of the West." Notably, the Dominguez event also motivated at least one would-be aviator, Lincoln Beachey, to learn to fly. Although Beachey had begun the meet as a dirigible pilot, by its end, he had been so inspired by the airplane pilots that he approached Glenn Curtiss and asked Curtiss to teach him to fly. Within a year, Beachey would become America's leading exhibition airplane aviator.

The next significant American airshow -- the Harvard-Boston Aero Meet--took place at Harvard Aviation Field in Atlantic, Massachusetts, from September 3-13, 1910. It was the first major air event in the East and offered aviators more than $90,000 in prizes and appearance fees. Both the Wright brothers and the Glenn Curtiss exhibition teams made good showings, but it was the Englishman Claude Grahame-White, who had become an aviator after being inspired by Louis Bleriot's historic 1909 English Channel flight, who ruled the show.

Grahame-White won several contests at the Massachusetts show, including the speed race, and won the prizes for the most accurate landing and the shortest take off. He also gave a bombing demonstration by dropping plaster-of-Paris duds on a mock warship. The most prestigious event he won was the 33-mile race from Squantum, Massachusetts, around Boston Light, and back. The winner's purse was $10,000. Grahame-White won approximately $22,000 in prizes in all during the meet.

The Massachusetts show stands out as important not only because it was the first major air meet in the eastern United States and gave many New Englanders their first real glimpse of an airplane, but also because it inspired Harriet Quimby, one of America's most important early women aviators, to pursue her pilot's license. Sadly however, while the Harvard-Boston meet originally inspired Quimby to pursue flying, the same venue would take her life two years later.

Britainïs James Radley sails past the scoreboard in his Blériot during the air meet at Belmont Park.

The last major U.S. airshow of 1910 took place at a large racetrack on Long Island, in Belmont Park, New York, from October 22-31. The Belmont International Aviation Tournament offered approximately $75,000 in prize money and attracted one of the period's most talented fields of pilots. Events ranged from competitions for the best altitude, speed, and distance, to contests for the most precise landing and the best mechanic.

Arch Hoxsey was one of the aviators to appear at both the 1910 Los Angeles and Belmont air meets. He was killed on December 31, 1910, in Los Angeles, while trying to better his own world altitude record.

More than two dozen of the world's top aviators attended the New York meet. They came from England, France, and the United States. The key pilots from France included Count Jacques de Lesseps and Roland Garros. Claude Grahame-White from England also attended, as did several Americans--Glenn Curtiss, John Moisant, Arch Hoxsey, Ralph Johnstone, and Charles Hamilton among them.

Charles Hamilton, a famous Curtiss exhibition pilot, flew at the 1910 Belmont air meet. He always flew carrying a loaded gun and was frequently drunk.

One of the meet's highlights was an altitude duel between Ralph Johnstone and Arch Hoxsey. Johnstone eventually won the contest by soaring to approximately 9714 feet (2961 meters), a new record. Another highlight occurred when Charles Hamilton won the precision landing event. For a while, it looked as if Americans might sweep all of the contests, but then the prestigious Gordon Bennett Cup event, or speed race, took place.

American Walter Brookins competed against Claude Graham-White in the Gordon Bennett speed race on October 29, 1910, during the Belmont Air Show, flying his Wright Model "R," known as the "Baby Grand." He was taken out of the running when he crashed.

On October 29, Claude Grahame-White flew his Bleriot monoplane to victory in the $5,000 Gordon Bennett Cup contest in just a little over an hour. He had averaged 61 miles per hour (98 kilometers per hour) over the 100-kilometer race. In the process, he beat nine other competitors, only three of which even flew the entire distance. American John Moisant placed second but took more than an hour longer than Graham-White because of mechanical problems. Although many contemporaries considered the Gordon Bennett event aviation's most prestigious race, another showcase contest at Belmont was just as significant thanks to its $10,000 purse.

Ralph Johnstone crossing the finish line in air race, 1910.

The meet's final event was a quick dash that took competitors from the Belmont Park Racetrack, over New York City Harbour, around the Statue of Liberty, and back. On October 30, some 75,000 people crowded around the racetrack to witness the start and finish of the competition. Countless others viewed the contest from various points around the city.

Once again, Claude Grahame-White, piloting his 100-hp (75-kilowatt) Bleriot monoplane, put up the best time and completed the course in 35 minutes, 21 seconds. He seemed to have won the contest, but then John Moisant surprised him at the last moment. Moisant had seriously damaged his own plane earlier in the week and was busy trying to purchase another aircraft while Grahame-White was winging his way to an apparent victory. At the last minute, however, Moisant acquired a 50-hp (37-kilowatt) Bleriot and took off in pursuit of Grahame-White's time. Flying a more direct route than the Englishman thanks to a new navigational system, Moisant, much to the delight of the crowd, bettered Grahame-White's mark by 43 seconds. Despite the Englishman's prestigious victory in the Gordon Bennett race, Moisant was the meet's hero.

Afterward, Grahame-White protested Moisant's victory because the American had started the race 21 minutes after the close of allowable start times. Meet officials, nevertheless, sided with Moisant. After appealing his case all the way to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (aviation's main ruling body at the time), Grahame-White finally achieved his victory when the FAI reversed the Belmont Park Meet officials' decision in 1912. Graham-White collected the race's prize money and an additional $500 in interest. For most of the people who saw the contest firsthand, however, Moisant was the real victor.

From Los Angeles, to Boston and New York, Americans had flocked to the American air meets of 1910, gotten their first glimpses of aircraft, and started to contemplate the future of aviation. In the process, they saw several record-breaking events and some splendid daredevilry. These first significant American airshows would prove important to the future of U.S. aviation.

In October 1910, Claude Grahame-White won the Gordon Bennett speed race at the Belmont airs meet. The next month, he flew to Washington, D.C. and landed on a street next to the White House.

The Great War 1915 to 1918

1915 During the year -- The first true fighter aircraft begin appearing in the skies over Europe. January 19 -- First air raid on Great Britain -- bombs dropped from Zeppelin airships. February 5 -- Adolphe Penaud, flying a Morane Parasol skillfully through one aerobatic maneuver after another, gets so close to German aircraft that his observer dispatches two of them with six rifle shots. March 3 -- The Langley Aeronautics Laboratory (formerly attached to the Smithsonian) becomes a separate entity, NACA -- the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. This is the forerunner of NASA. April 1 -- Frenchman Roland Garros becomes the first fighter pilot to shoot down an airplane in air-to-air combat. Shooting a machine gun through the propeller of his Morane-Saulnier, he downs a German plane. The propeller was covered with armored plates to deflect any bullets that might hit it. April 19 -- Swiss engineer Franz Schneider is working in Berlin and is aware of the deflector plate method employed by the French. To counter it, he devises a synchronized machine gun that fires through the propeller arc when no blade is in front of the muzzle. May -- Anthony Fokker adapts Schneider synchronizer to a Fokker M.5K, creating the Fokker E.1, the first fighter plane with a forward-firing synchronized machine gun. June 7 -- The first Zeppelin is destroyed in the air over Belgium by Flight Lieutenant R.A.J. Warneford of the Royal Navy, flying a Morane-Saulnier Parasol. August -- Orville Wright sells the Wright Company to group of New York investors and washes his hands of the airplane business. However, he remains active in aeronautics as an independent scientist and consultant. August 1 -- Lieutenant Max Immelman shoots down the first Allied aircraft, flying a Fokker E.1 equipped with synchronized machine gun and propeller. December 12 -- The Junkers J.1, the world's first practical all-metal airplane, flies for the first time.
1916 All during the year -- The allies introduce capable fighters with synchronized guns and propellers, including the Nieuport 17 and the Spad 13. These are no more technically advanced than German fighters, but the sheer numbers of them give the Allies air superiority by year's end. Early in the year -- Major General Hugh M. Trenchard, recognizing that the airplane was most effective when used as an offensive weapon, instructs his squadrons fly in formation for protection and discipline during attacks. Formation flying proves so effective that it becomes a basic part of air tactics. March 15 — The U.S. Army uses airplanes (Curtiss Model J's) in a military operation for the first time. They are used to support punitive operations against Mexico. April -- The Lafayette Escadrille is organized in France -- volunteer American pilots flying for the Allies. May 31 -- A British naval seaplane spots artillery for the British fleet at the Battle of Jutland. This is the first use of aircraft in naval operations. September 12 -- The Hewitt-Sperry biplane, the world's first radio-guided flying bomb, is tested. It can fly 50 miles carrying 308 pounds of explosives. September 16 -- Lieutenant Manfred Von Richthofen -- the Red Baron -- shoots down his first Allied plane flying an Albatross D.II. October 5 -- George Holt Thomas organizes the first British airline, Air Transport and Travel, Ltd.
1917 During the Year -- For the first time, heavy bombers are used by both the Allies and the Axis powers -- the Britsh fly the giant Handley-Page, while the Germans use the Gotha. April 6 -- Inflamed by German subs sinking American ships, the United States enters the war on the side of the Allies. American politicians promise to "darken the skies of Europe" by sending 20,000 American planes to the front. Congress votes $640 million to build the planes, the largest sum it had ever appropriated for a single purpose. At that time, the entire United States Flying Service had only 250 airplanes. June 13 -- Fourteen German Gotha bombers make the first daylight bombing raid on London, England. August 2 -- Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning lands his Sopwith Pup on a British ship, the H.M.S. Furious, while the ship is under way. It's the first time anyone has landed an airplane on a ship that wasn't at anchor.
1918 Winter -- Captain Sarrat of the French Air Force become the first pilot to parachute from his stricken plane in combat. March 11— The first regularly scheduled air mail service begins, flying between Vienna and Kiev. March 19 -- Airplanes built in the United States are used in aerial combat for the first time over France. March 21 -- The Germans launch a determined offensive south of Arras, throwing 6000 cannon and 730 planes against the Allies. The offensive is strangled, however, when Allied bombers destroy bridges behind the advancing German Army and cut off their supplies. April 1 -- The British Royal Air Force is formed, combining the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. Major General Hugh Trenchard becomes the RAF's first chief of staff. April 13 -- Lieutenant Luis C. Candelaria makes the first flight across the Andes Mountains, flying from Argentina to Chile. April 14 -- For the first time, American-built airplanes down two German airplanes. April 21 -- Canadian pilot Roy Brown shoots down Manfred Von Richtofen over France. At the time of his death, the Red Baron was credited with shooting down 80 Allied airplanes. April 29 -- American pilot Eddie Rickenbacker scores his first kill, shooting down a German Pfalz. He will eventually shoot down 26 German aircraft. June 24 -- Captain B. A. Peck flies the first official mail flight in Canada, flying from Montreal to Toronto in a Curtiss Jenny. August 12 -- The first regular mail service in America begins, flying between Washington, DC and New York, NY. November 10 -- Germany and the Axis powers surrender to the Allies. At the time of surrender , only 400 of the promised 20,000 American airplanes had made it into combat.

The Pioneers 1910 to 1914

1910 January -- The Wright Company rents space from the Speedwell Motorcar plant in Dayton, Ohio and begins to manufacture airplanes. January 10 to 20 — The first great air meet in the United States takes place in San Diego, California. January 17 -- The Wright Company hires A. Roy Knabeshue to put together an exhibition flying team, the "Wright-Fliers." Knabeshue begins to scour the country for candidates. Spring -- Zeppelin airships, which first flew in 1900, begin the first regularly scheduled air passenger service. Between 1910 and 1914, this service carries over 35,000 passengers between German cities without a single mishap. Orville Wright is one of those passengers. March 8 — Baroness de Laroche becomes the first woman pilot to be granted a license to fly. March 10 -- French pilot Emil Aubrun makes the first night flights. March 24 -- Orville Wright and Charlie Taylor arrive in Montgomery, AL with five students and an airplane in tow. They open a flight school at a location that will become Maxwell Air Force Base. The Wright's first civilian students are Walter Brookins, Arch Hoxsey, A. L. Welsh, Spencer Crane, and J. W. Davis. Only Brookins, Hoxsey, and Welsh made it as pilots. March 28 -- Henri Fabre makes the first successful take-off from water in a seaplane that he designed and built. April 27 to 28 -- Louis Paulhan, flying a Farman, wins the first great air race, from London to Manchester in England. This race impresses many, including Wilbur Wright, who predicts for the first time in print that airplanes with one day cross the Atlantic Ocean. May 10 -- Orville Wright leaves Walter Brookins in charge of the flight school in Montgomery, AL and returns to Dayton to train students at Huffman Prairie, now refurbished with a larger hangar. Among his students are Frank Coffyn, Ralph Johnstone, Phil O. Parmalee, J. Clifford Turpin, Howard Gill, and Leonard Bonney. All of these men became pilots for the Wright-Fliers. May 29 -- Glenn Curtiss flies 151 miles from Albany to New York, NY on the first cross-country flight in America. Summer -- The Wright Brothers introduce what will become their most popular airplane, the Wright Model B. Like their earlier craft, the Model B is a pusher biplane with wing-warping. But is has a conventional tail and a wheeled undercarriage. June 2 -- C.S. Rolls, flying a Wright Model A, makes the first round-trip flight over the English Channel and back again. June 30 -- Glenn Curtiss makes the first bombing runs from an airplane, dropping dummy bombs over Lake Keuka near Hammondsport, NY. August -- Lieutenant Jacob Fickel fires a Springfield rifle from an airplane piloted by Glenn Curtiss at a target on the ground over Sheepshead Bay Speedway, Brooklyn, New York. He scores one hit. It is the first time a gun is fired from an aircraft. August 27 -- Radio is used for the first time to communicate with a pilot in the air. James McCurdy, flying a Curtiss biplane, receives and sends messages on a Horton wireless set over Sheepshead Bay, New York. September 2 -- Blanche Stuart Scott becomes the first American woman to solo an airplane. She was taught to fly by Glenn Curtiss, although she never received a license. September 11 -- Robert Loraine crosses the Irish Sea from Wales to Ireland in a Farman biplane. September 23 -- Georges Chavez crosses the Alps in a Bleriot monoplane. October 2 --- An Antoinette monoplane collides with a Farman biplane over Milan, Italy in the first mid-air collision. Both pilots survive. October 22 to 30 -- The first international air meet in America gets underway at Belmont, NY. The Wrights bring a special airplane -- the Wright Model R, dubbed the "Baby Grand" -- to win the speed contest. During speed trials, it flies a 70 mph and is the favorite to win the race. But it crashes before the competition begins. It is an end to the Wrights' perceived technological superiority in the air. November 7 -- Phil Parmalee flies the world's first air-freight shipment -- a bolt of cloth -- from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio in a Wright Model B. The cloth is delivered to Morehouse-Martens Department Store, where it is cut up into swatches and sold as souvenirs. November 14 -- Flying a Curtiss biplane, Eugene Ely takes off from an 83-foot-long wooden deck built on the U.S.S. Birmingham in Hampton, Roads, VA. This marks the birth of the aircraft carrier. November 17 -- Ralph Johnstone fails to pull out of a spiraling dive in a exhibition flight and dies. He is the first American pilot to lose his life in an airplane.
1911 January -- French Captain A. Eteve invents and tests the first practical airspeed indicator. January -- Lieutenant M. S. Crissy drops live bombs over San Francisco Bay from a Wright airplane piloted by Philip O. Parmalee. It is the first time live bombs have been dropped from an aircraft. January 18 -- Eugene Ely takes off from Presidio Military Base in San Francisco and lands on a temporary wooden deck on the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. He has lunch with the captain and flies back to San Francisco. This is the first round trip to and from a ship by airplane. January 26 -- Glenn Curtiss flies the first practical seaplane from San Diego Bay in California. It is basically a standard Curtiss fitted with a single float beneath the wings. February -- Glenn Curtiss attaches wheels to the float of is primitive seaplane and creates the first amphibian airplane. February -- Lieutenant Riley Scott of the U.S. Army invents and tests the first bomb sight. February -- A specially-built Bleriot lifts ten passengers off the ground in France. Some of the passengers are young boys, but the flight demonstrates the possibility of multi-passenger air transport nonetheless. February 18 -- French pilot Henri Pequet flies the world's first official air mail in Allahabad, India. April 12 -- Pierre Prier, flying a Bleriot monoplane, makes the first non-stop flight between London and Paris. Summer -- Edouard Nieuport advances that basic design of the Bleriot monoplane and builds the Neiuport IV G, the first airplanes with a completely enclosed, streamlined fuselage. June 18 -- The Circuit of Europe, the first international air race, begins in Paris. August -- Pilot Hugh Robinson lands his Curtiss seaplane on Lake Michigan to rescue another pilot who crashed into the lake. It is the first air-sea rescue. August -- Harry Atwood flies his Wright Model B from St. Louis to New York -- over 1200 miles in nine days. August -- Harriet Quimby, a New York drama critic, becomes the first licensed woman pilot in America. September to December -- Cal Rodgers crosses America from Sheepshead Bay, NY to Long Beach, CA in a Wright Model EX dubbed the Vin Fiz, after his sponsor. The trip takes 84 days. Despite 5 major crashes and a host of smaller mishaps, it is the first time anyone crossed a continent in an airplane. September 19 -- Gustav Hamel flies the first English air mail between Hendon and Windsor in a Bleriot monoplane. September 23 -- Earl Ovington delivers the first official air mail for the U.S. Post Office in a Bleriot monoplane. October 22 -- The airplane is used in war for the first time when Italian Captain Carlo Piazza makes a reconnaissance flight in a Bleriot monoplane. He takes off from Tripoli and observes the Turkish army near Azizia. October 24 -- Orville Wright returns to Kitty Hawk for the last time to test an automatic stabilizer on a new glider. On one flight, he remains in the air for 9 minutes and 45 seconds, setting a world's record that stands for ten years. October 26 -- The 1909 Wright Military Flyer Miss Columbia is enshrined at the Smithsonian Institution. October 31 -- John Montgomery, the first American gliding pilot, dies in a gliding flight in California. November -- Plagued by accidents, the Wright Company dissolves its exhibition team.
1912 March 1 -- Captain Albert Berry makes the first parachute drop over St. Louis, MO. April 12 -- Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to cross the English Channel in a Bleriot. May 30 -- Thirteen years to the day after he first wrote the Smithsonian Institution asking for information on aeronautics, Wilbur Wright dies of typhoid fever in his home in Dayton, Ohio. Orville Wright takes over as president of the Wright Company Summer -- Glenn Curtiss develops and test-flies the first successful flying boat, the "Model E." Summer -- A.V. Roe builds and tests the first enclosed-cabin airplane. The Avro F monoplane has a steel frame, a skin of linen and aluminum, and celluloid windows. Roe also builds an enclosed-cabin biplane. November 12 -- The Navy launches a Curtiss seaplane, flown by Lieutenant Ellyson, from a ship using a compressed air catapult.
1913 Throughout the year — A new breed of biplanes appears, with staggered wings and enclosed fuselages. This is the shape of things to come. The first truly inherently stable aircraft, the B.E. 2c, flies for the first time. Designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory in Farnborough, England, this reconnaissance biplane sets a new standard for all subsequent airplanes. A.V Roe develops the Avro 504, a two-seat military trainer that was used up until the 1930s. Tom Sopwith develops the Tabloid scout, a highly maneuverable biplane able to climb to 15,000 feet in 10 minutes. This will develop into the Sopwith Camel, one of the most effective fighters of World War 1. Along with similar planes built at the Royal Aircraft Factory, the Tabloid revolutionizes biplane design. February 27 -- The New York courts return their decision on the Wright vs. Curtiss patent suit. They find in favor of the Wright brothers. Glenn Curtiss files an appeal to the Federal courts. April 16 -- Maurice Provost wins the first Schneider Trophy contest, a speed trial for seaplanes, in Monaco. More than any other contest, the Schneider Trophy spurs the development of aircraft engines. May 13 -- Igor Sikorsky pilots the huge Bolshoi on its first flight, carrying 8 passengers. With 4 engines, a wingspan of 92 feet, and an open-air observation deck, it is the largest airplane in the world. (Later modifications would add 4 more engines, increase the wingspan to 113 feet, and enable it to carry up to 16 passengers.) The Bolshoi marks the beginning of large airplane engineering which eventually leads to airliners and heavy bombers. June -- French engineer Louis Bechereau unveils the Deperdussin, a monoplane racer with the first monocoque fuselage. This revolutionary method of construction uses the skin of the aircraft to carry structural loads. This, in turn, reduces the number of structural parts, making the aircraft lighter and simpler to build. It is the first truly streamlined aircraft. Summer -- Two Spanish pilots are seriously wounded be rifle fire from Moroccan soldiers on the ground in Tangiers, dispelling the notion that airplanes present a target that is impossible to hit from the ground. August -- Peter Nesterov, a young Russian officer out for a joy ride, flies the first loop-de-loop on record. He is promptly placed under house arrest for endangering government property. September 13 -- Roland Garros crosses the Mediterranean Sea, flying 512 miles in a Morane-Saulnier monoplane. September 21-- Adolphe Pegoud flies the first public loop-de-loop in a Bleriot monoplane near Buc, France. This and other stunts ( such as flying inverted) make him the first aerobatic pilot. These aerobatics would soon become the basis for evasive maneuvers used by combat pilots in World War I. Winter -- The Daily Mail of London, England offers a prize 10,000 pounds for the first pilot to cross the Atlantic in an airplane.
1914 January 1 -- P.E. Fansler founds the first regularly scheduled airline, flying both passengers and freight between Tampa and St. Petersburg (22 miles) in a Benoist flying boat. The airline survives only until March, but it carries 1,024 passengers without a single mishap. January 13 -- The United States Court of Appeals upholds the original decision of the Wright vs. Curtiss patent suit. This establishes the Wright brothers as the legal inventors of the airplane, as well as the historic inventors. February -- Glenn Curtiss begins to build a huge flying boat, the America, to capture The Daily Mail prize for the first flight across the Atlantic. Flight tests continue into the summer. April 24 -- Glenn Curtiss unveils the Curtiss Model J, a tractor biplane designed by B. Douglas Thomas. Thomas had formally been an engineer for Sopwith Aviation in England, and the Model J incorporates all the lastest advances in European biplane design. May 28 -- In an attempt to nullify the legal decision of Curtiss vs. Wright, Glenn Curtiss "restores" the 1903 Langley Aerodrome and flies it from Lake Keuka ostensibly to prove the Aerodrome was the first airplane capable of manned flight. In reality, Curtiss has made over 30 major modifications to the Aerodrome to make it airworthy. The flights have no effect on the patent litigation. June 18 — Lawrence Sperry demonstrates the first gyroscopic automatic pilot (called by him a "gyro-stabilizer") in a Curtiss Model F flying boat. He received a 50,000-franc prize from the French government for his invention. Sperry also developed the turn-and-bank indicator and retractable landing gear. August 1 -- World War 1 breaks out in Europe. Glenn Curtiss cancels his plans for a trans-Atlantic flight. The America is assigned to submarine patrol duty. August 30 -- Bombs are dropped on Paris from and airplane. It is the first time a capital city is bombed. August -- After a rash of fatal accidents, the U.S. Army grounds all Wright and Curtiss "pusher" airplanes, leaving the Army with almost nothing to fly. Glenn Martin offers a tractor biplane to fill the gap, the the Martin Model T becomes the Army's first "safe" training airplane. September to December -- The U.S. Army drafts new requirements for a military training aircraft. In response to these specifications, Glenn Curtiss and B. Douglas Thomas rework the Model J to produce the Curtiss Model N. It just squeaks by a military review board, barely meeting the qualifications. Curtiss and Thomas refine the design create the capable Curtiss Model JN. This is the beginning of the Curtiss "Jenny," one of the most popular aircraft ever built. September 24 -- British airmen in France direct artillery fire from the air for the first time, using 75-pound Morse-code transmitters. October 5 -- French Corporal Louis Quenalt, an observer flying in a Voisin piloted by Sergeant Joseph Frantz, shoots down a German Aviatik with a Hotchkiss machine gun. This is the first air-to-air kill.

The First to Fly 1904 to 1909

1904 March — Ernest Archdeacon, France puts up a purse of 25,000 francs for the first officially recorded circular flight of one kilometer, called the Grand Prix d’Aviation. French oil magnate Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe matches Archdeacon, raising the prize to 50,000 francs, or about $10,000. Spring — Albertos Santos-Dumont, France, a pilot famous for his pioneering work in dirigibles, begins to experiment with gliders. May — The Wrights attempt to fly at Huffman Prairie, Ohio before the press on two occasions with a new machine, the Flyer II. However, because it is so underpowered, it can only manage brief hops. July — The first of the Wright’s patents is granted. August — The Wrights are making hops of 600 feet in the Flyer II, but they still have trouble getting into the air and staying there. September — The Wrights develop a catapult launching system to get their aircraft up to flying speed. It works well, and they begin to make progress again. September 20 — Wilbur Wright flies the first complete circle in an airplane. The flight is witnessed by Amos Root, publisher of Gleanings in Bee Culture.	Click on a photo to enlarge it. Ernest Archdeacon in his 1904 copy of a Wright glider. The Wright Flyer 2 on the track at Huffman Prairie, ready to launch. Flyer 2 launched with the aid of a catapult. The Wright Flyer 2 flying a circle over Huffman Prairie.
1905 June — Robert Esnault-Peltrie, France, builds a Wright-style glider. It performs poorly and he blames the wing-warping system. He substitutes ailerons and publishes his findings. Later, other aviators will use Peltrie’s ailerons to get around the Wright’s patents. June — The Wrights take to the air with a new machine, the Flyer III. It is the world’s first practical airplane. October 5 — The Wrights fly for 24 miles in 38 minutes, landing only when their gas tank runs dry. October — The United States government tells the Wrights it has "no requirements" for a flying machine. November — The Aero Club of France learns that the Wrights have made of flight of 24 miles, circling the Huffman Prairie. They are skeptical, dispatch a correspondent to the United States to investigate. The correspondent corroborates the Wright’s accounts. November — Gabriel Voison and Ernest Archdeacon, France, test a box-like glider, towing it behind a motorboat. It flies successfully. Fall — Louis Bleriot, France, meets Gabriel Voisin who is building gliders for Archdeacon. The two agree to collaborate and build several unsuccessful powered machines. Fall — Albertos Santos-Dumont produces an unsuccessful helicopter.	The Esnault-Petrie glider crashed. The 1905 Flyer 3, the world's first practical airplane. The Archdeacon Voison glider was mounted on floats as was towed aloft behind a motorboat. The 1905 Bleriot IV glider being towed during an unsuccessful take-off run.
1906 January — The Aero Club of France meeting is rocked by the news of the Wright’s accomplishments. Ferber accepts the Wrights claims, Archdeacon refuses to give in. Archdeacon sends a taunting letter to the Wrights, challenging them to come to France and claim the Grand Prix d’Aviation. The Wrights do not respond. January — The French journal L’Aerophile publishes the details of the Wright’s patent, but members of the Aero Club ignore it. March -- The first tractor monoplane, a Vuia, is tested. It's unsuccessful, but it starts an important design trend. July 23 — Albertos Santos-Dumont, France, tests the control of his powered airplane, the 14-Bis, tethered underneath a dirigible. September 13 — Albertos Santos-Dumont, France, makes several short hops in his 14-Bis. October — Octave Chanute writes the Wrights that the Europeans are catching up to them. Wilbur writes back that he believes the Europeans won’t have a flyable airplane for 5 years. October 23 — Albertos Santos-Dumont, France, flies 197 feet in his 14-Bis. But he never gets far enough the ground to get out of "ground effect" and it’s not counted as a true flight. November 12 — Albertos Santos-Dumont, France, flies 722 feet in his 14-Bis. This is considered the first true flight of a powered aircraft in Europe.	The trend-setting tractor monoplane, the 1906 Vuia. Santos Dumont's 14-bis, suspended beneath his dirigible. La Petit Journal's illustration of Santos-Dumont's successful flight on November 12, 1906.
1907 July — Alexander Graham Bell, Canada, Glenn Curtiss, United States, and others form the Aerial Experiment Association. The association’s secretary, Lt. Thomas Selfridge, writes to the Wrights for information on building gliders and they send it to him. October — Henry Farnam, England, turns up at the Voisin plant to buy an airplane. Farman proves to be a skillful pilot and he modifies the plane with a Wright-style front rudder and a smaller tail. November 5 — Leon Delagrange, France, makes a flight of 1600 feet. November — The Scientific American offers a prizes of $2,500 for the first flight in America of one kilometer. December 23 — The United States government, finally convinced that the Wrights can do what they say they can do, issues a bid for a flying machine.
1908 January 13 — Henry Farman wins the Grand Prix d’Aviation in a modified Voisin biplane, flying the first circle in Europe. January — The Wrights respond to the US government request. February — The Wrights reach an agreement with the United States War Department to deliver a two-seat aircraft for $25,000. March — A syndicate of French businessmen agree to manufacture Wright airplanes if the Wrights will come to France and demonstrate one. March 12 — The Aerial Experiment Association tests its first plane, the Red Wing on a frozen lake in Hammondsport, New York. It makes a 319-foot hop and crash-lands. April 9 — Wilbur Wright returns to Kitty Hawk to practice flying before he demonstrates the improved aircraft they now call the Wright Model A. April 25 — Orville Wright joins Wilbur in Kitty Hawk May 6 — Orville and Wilbur resume flying tests. May 21 — The Aerial Experiment Association tests its second plane, the White Wing with Glenn Curtiss at the controls. It makes a 1,017-foot flight and lands safely. May — The Wrights decide to divide their forces — Orville to Fort Meyer, Virginia, Wilbur to France. May — Henry Farnam, France, challenges the Wrights to a fly-off for cash stakes — $5,000 — for best speed and distance. When newspapermen confront Wilbur with the challenge, he characteristically has no comment. June — Wilbur Wright arrives in France, finds the Wright Model A that was shipped there was smashed by Customs officials. He begins to repair it with hired French workmen in a corner of the Le Mans automobile factory. July 4 — The Aerial Experiment Association wins the Scientific American prize with the June Bug, a plane designed and piloted by Glenn Curtiss. The same day, Wilbur Wright is badly burned in France when a radiator hose explodes. July 20 — Hearing of Curtiss’s success, Orville writes Curtiss reminding him that he is welcome to experiment, but if he wants to manufacture planes, he must lease the Wright’s patents. August 8 — With the French press taking pot shots at the Wrights, Wilbur decides "it would be a good thing to do a little something," even though the Wright Model A is not quite ready. A crowd gathers at the Le Mans racetrack, including Bleriot, Archdeacon, and other French aviators. Wilbur makes a flight of almost 2 minutes and the French are won over. Says Delagrange, "Well, we are beaten." Bleriot says, "Monsieur Wright has us all in his hands." Only Archdeacon is a little sour. September 12 — Orville Wright begins flying demonstrations at Fort Meyer, Virginia. September 17 — Orville flies with Lt. Thomas Selfridge in Fort Meyer. A propeller breaks, the plane crashes, and Selfridge is killed. Orville suffers a broken leg and hip. September 21 — Wilbur Wright sets a new world record for time aloft, 1 hour and 31 minutes. He does the best flying of his life in the months that follow, knowing he has to give the press something to talk about besides Orville’s terrible crash. He sets new records almost daily. December — Recuperating Orville and Katharine join Wilbur in France
1909 Throughout the winter and spring — The Wrights fly for royalty all over Europe, launching their airplane from France and Italy. February 19 -- Glenn Curtiss and Augustus Herring incorporate the Herring-Curtiss Company to manufacture airplanes. They have no intention of licensing the Wright patents. March — Wilbur and Orville return to New York, and are welcomed by a flotilla. May-April -- In France Henry Farman develops a biplane that uses ailerons to control roll. It is the first practical European airplane with ailerons. June 16 -- Glenn Curtiss delivers the Golden Flier to the Aeronautic Society of New York. It is the first commercially-sold airplane in America. June 17 — The Wrights return home to Dayton and a heroes welcome. Congress votes them a gold medal, President Taft invites them to the White House. Ohio also strikes medals for the brothers. Orville and Wilbur take it all in with just a polite thank you. June 29 to July 30 -- The Wrights deliver their new Military Flyer to the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Meyer, Virginia, and put it through the required trials. The Army accepts the flying machine and becomes the first military aircraft in the world. July 17 -- Glenn Curtiss flies 25 miles in the Golden Flier to win the Scientific American Trophy for a second year in a row. July 25 -- Louis Bleriot crosses the English Channel in a Bleriot XI monoplane. This has an enormous psychological effect around the world because it shows that natural physical boundaries that had protected nations for millennia can be crossed easily by airplane. August -- The Wright Brothers launch law suits against various airplane builders for patent infringement, including Curtiss. August 22 to 29 -- 22 pilots from all over the world converge on the old French cathedral city of Rheims for the first-ever aviation meet. There are hundreds of flights over seven days, and one spectator, David Lloyd George (who would later become Prime Minister of England, remarks, "Flying machines are no longer toys and dreams; they are an established fact." August 27 -- Farman makes the first flight of over 100 miles and wins the contest for endurance flying at Rheims. August 29 -- Curtiss comes in first in the speed contest at Rheims, capturing the Gordon Bennett Cup and setting a new world's speed record of 46.5 miles per hour. September 7 -- Eugene Lefebvre dies while testing a new French-built Wright airplane. He is the first pilot to die at the controls of his craft. October 2 -- Orville Wright makes the first fight above 1000 feet in altitude. September 30 to October 4 -- For the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in New York, Wilbur Wright circles the Statue of Liberty and flies up the Hudson River to Grant's Tomb and back. Over a million people see him fly. October 6 to November 2 -- Wilbur Wright trains Lieutenants Frank Lahm and Fredrick Humphreys to fly at College Park, Maryland. They become the first U.S. military pilots. November 22 -- Orville and Wilbur Wright incorporate the Wright Company to manufacture airplanes. The company is backed by New York financiers, including Delancy Nicoll, Cornelius Vanderbilt, August Belmont, Morton Plant, Thomas F. Ryan, Theodore P. Shonts, Russel Alger, and Robert Collier. December -- The first successful photographs to be taken from an airplane are shot in France of Mourmelon, Camp de Chalons.

Wright Brothers Aeroplane - Patented Plans, 1908

Here are four plans: The top plan of the Wright aeroplane by W.B. Robinson from the Wright Brothers' specification in the Patent Office; Fig. 1 - Wright flying machine; Fig. 3 - figures descriptives du brevet français Wright et Wright [...]; and a perspective view of the Wright aeroplane.

1899 to 1903

1899 The Wright brothers experiment with twisting wings, trying to deform the front edges. They can’t come up with a device light enough or strong enough to control a glider in flight. May 30 — Wilbur Wright writes the Smithsonian asking for published materials on aeronautics. He is answered by Richard Rathbun, who sends four pamphlets and a list of other publications. Edward Huffaker quits work with Langley and goes back to Tennessee. July — Wilbur Wright sells a woman a bicycle inner tube, then nervously twists the box that it came in while she talks to him. He notices that when he twists one end of the small rectangular box in one direction, the other end twists in the opposite direction. In his mind’s eye, he sees the twisting wings of a biplane. July — The Wright brothers build a biplane kite with a wingspan of 5 feet and a wing warping system. When tested by Wilbur, it works just as planned. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he pedals miles out into the country side to find Orville, who is on a camping trip with friends. Immediately the brothers begin planning a man-carrying version. September 30 — Percy Pilcher dies in a crash of his Hawk, just as he is preparing to test a powered airplane. November 27 — Wilbur Wright writes the United States Weather Bureau and inquires about locations with high winds. The weather bureau sends him The Monthly Weather Review and wind charts, and Wilbur learns of Kitty Hawk.	Click on an image to enlarge it. To see an animated demonstration of Wilbur's inner tube box experiment, click the image above. Wilbur's drawing of his 1899 kite. Flying a replica of the 1899 kite. The patent drawing of Pilcher's powered plane. By the time he built it, the design had evolved to a triplane.
1900 Throughout the spring and summer — The Wrights plan and build parts for their first glider. May 13 — Wilbur Wright writes Octave Chanute and asks for advice. August 3 — Wilbur Wright writes to Kitty Hawk, asking for information on weather and lodging. August 16 — Joseph Dosher, the chief of the Kitty Hawk weather station, responds to Wilbur’s letter. Dosher also refers Wilbur’s letter to William Tate, the postmaster. Tate also writes Wilbur, providing more details about Kitty Hawk September 13 — Wilbur Wright arrives in Kitty Hawk, stays with the Tates, and begins to assemble a glider. September 28 — Orville Wright arrives with camping gear, food, and a mandolin. He also brings a camera, the first ever seen in Kitty Hawk. The brother stay in a 12-foot by 22-foot tent, about a mile from the Tates. They assemble a biplane glider with movable front elevator — they have located the elevator at the front not only to provide control, but to serve the same function as Lilienthal’s rebound bow. They begin to test the glider as a kite. Orville begins a humorous correspondence with his sister Katharine, whom he is very close to. Wilbur will not let Orville fly until he’s sure the glider is safe. October 10 — The Wrights experience their first crash. They rebuild the glider, and once again test it like a kite. The Wrights send 10-year-old Tom Tate, William’s nephew up on the glider as they fly it like a kite. Later on, just before they leave to go back home, Wilbur makes about a dozen free flights. October 23 — The Wrights break camp and head for Dayton. Puzzled by failure of glider to produce calculated lift, but encouraged by success of wing warping and elevator control.	The Wright brothers' camp at Kitty Hawk in 1900. Wilbur is "washing" a pan in the sand. The Wright brothers flew their first glider mostly as a kite. The Wrights flew their 1900 glider on just two occasions with a pilot aboard. The first was a tethered flight, the second was a series of short free flights. The above picture is a reenactment of a free flight.
1901 Octave Chanute praises and publicizes the work of the Wrights Ferdinand Ferber, France, learns of the Wright brothers work from Octave Chanute. He begins to correspond with the brothers. Wilbur Wright publishes a technical paper on gliding in a British and German journal. The Wrights, encouraged by their initial success, plan their second glider. Octave Chanute asks the Wrights to work with Edward Huffaker and George Spratt (of Pennsylvania) to test one of Chanute’s gliders in Kitty Hawk. June — The Wrights hire Charlie Taylor to run their bicycle shop in their absence. July 10 — Wrights arrived at Kitty Hawk, establish camp at Kill Devil Hills four miles to south, build a shed to serve as a hangar. They are plagued by mosquitoes and Edward Huffaker. Orville writes to Katharine that he can’t decide which is worse, the mosquitoes or Huffaker. July 27 — The Wright’s glider is tested with Huffaker and Spratt helping. It doesn’t fly as well as their first glider, showing a pronounced tendency to nose up or nose down. The Wrights identify the problem as the wing curvature and begin to rebuild the glider with a shallower camber on the wings. August 4 — Octave Chanute arrives at the Wright’s camp. August 8 — The Wright's rebuilt glider is tested, and it performs almost as well as the first. Orville makes his first flights. August 9 — When Wilbur Wright attempts a turn, the glider behaves oddly. The increased drag on the "high" wing (the wing generating the most lift) causes the glider to yaw in the opposite direction of the turn. The Wrights are perplexed. Mid-August — Chanute, Huffaker, and Spratt depart the Wright camp August 20 — The Wrights, discouraged, break camp. Wilbur comments to Orville that it could 1000 more years before flying is possible. Later, Wilbur remembers his dark mood, "We doubted that we would ever resume our experiments...At this time, I made the prediction that men would sometime fly, but it would not be in our lifetime." September 18 — At Chanute’s request, Wilbur Wright delivers a paper to the Western Society of Engineers in Chicago, Illinois. Wilbur suggests to the group that the Lilienthal data on lift and wing shapes is wrong. The Wrights build a wind tunnel to conduct their own research on wing surfaces.	Orville and Dan Tate prepare to launch Wilbur aboard the 1901 Wright Glider. Wilbur flying the 1901 glider. Wilbur and the 1901 glider after a hard landing. Reliving the kiting experiments with the 1901 Wright glider. Reenacting a 1901 glider flight. Notice the similarity to the launch photo above.
1902 The Wrights plan their third glider. Ferdinand Ferber, France, begins experimenting with gliders based on the Wright design. August 28 — The Wrights arrive in Kitty Hawk, begin repairs on their shed and build an extension. September 8 — The Wrights begin to assemble their new glider. It has a fixed tail that the brothers hope will overcome the drag that caused the 1901 glider to yaw in the opposite direction of the intended turn. September 19 — The Wrights begin testing the glider. It is much improved, but when making a slow turn, the fixed tail causes the turn to become tighter and tighter. The glider spins in on one wing in a frightening maneuver the brothers dub "well-digging." September 23 — Orville Wright crashes and nearly destroys the glider. September 29 — Wrights resume tests with repaired glider. September 30— George Spratt and Lorin Wright arrive at camp for a visit. October 2 — Orville Wright suggests converting fixed tail to a movable rubber to fix the well-digging problem. Wilbur agrees and they do so. They connect the rudder control to the wing warping system. October 5 — Octave Chanute and Augustus Herring arrive at the Wright camp. October 8 — The Wright's modified glider work perfectly, with no tendency to spin. October 17 — Augustus Herring leaves Kitty Hawk and visits Samuel Langley in Virginia, looking for work. He tells Langley of the Wright’s success. October 19 — Samuel Langley cables the Wrights, requesting information on their "special curved surfaces" and asking to come to Kitty Hawk. The Wrights decline. October 28 — The Wrights break camp, already planning a powered aircraft. Winter — The Wrights inquire at automobile companies for a suitable gasoline engine for their aircraft, but cannot find one that meets their needs. Winter — Charley Taylor begins building an aircraft engine for the Wrights. December — Samuel Langley asks Octave Chanute to help him get a foot in the door with the Wrights. Chanute can’t get them to talk to Langley.	Ferber's 1902 glider was based on the Wrights' 1901 design. The 1902 Wright Glider initially had a fixed tail. It was only a partial solution to the turning problem. After some experimentation the Wrights converted the fixed tail to a movable rudder. This, together with wing warping and the elevator, gave the glider roll, pitch, and yaw control. The Wright airplane engine was designed for simplicity so the Wright's mechanic. Charlie Taylor, could build it with the limited metalworking equipment they had on hand.
1903 Ferdinand Ferber, France, builds a copy of a Wright glider and attaches a motor to it. He attempts to fly it tethered to a crane. He fails. Winter — The Wrights begin to design their aircraft propellers. The calculations are complex and confusing, and there are many heated arguments. April — The Wrights complete their first set of propellers. April — Octave Chanute lectures the Aero Club of France on the gliding experiments of the Wright brothers. September 25 — The Wrights return to Kitty Hawk. September 28 — Wrights practice flying with the 1902 glider and build a new hanger for the Flyer. October 7 — Samuel Langley tests his man-carrying Aerodrome on the Potomac, with Charles Manly, a co designer, at the controls. The machine snags on its launch mechanism and plunges into the river. October 23 — George Spratt visits the Wright’s camp. November 4 — When the Wrights test their assembled Flyer for the first time, it damages both propeller shafts. George Spratt takes the shafts back to Dayton with instructions for Charlie Taylor to rebuild them. November 5 — Octave Chanute visits the Wright camp. November 8 — Samuel Langley asks the War Department for more money to rebuild and test his Aerodrome again. He gets it. November 20 — Wrights receive the new propeller shafts, but find the drive sprockets are too loose. November 21 — The Wrights elect to use bicycle tire cement to glue the sprockets to the shafts. The cement works. November 28 — After the Wrights make several tests, one of the new propeller shafts crack. Orville takes it back to Dayton. December 8 — Samuel Langley tests his Aerodrome again. And again it fails. Charles Manly is almost drowned in the crash. December 11 — Orville Wright returns to Kitty Hawk from Dayton with new shafts made of spring steel. December 14 — The Wrights try to fly their machine with Wilbur at the controls. But he overcontrols the elevator, the machine shoots up 15 feet, stalls, and plows into the sand 105 feet from the point of takeoff. Neither Wilbur or Orville consider this a true flight since the airplane started on a downhill run. December 17 — At 10:35 am, Orville Wright makes the first powered flight in a fully controllable aircraft capable of sustaining itself in the air. The flight lasts just 12 seconds and stretches only 120 feet. In the next few hours, Wilbur and Orville make four flights, the longest 852 feet. After the fourth flight, a gust of wind rolls the aircraft over and smashes it. Wrights send a telegram to their father, Bishop Milton Wright, informing him of their success. The Bishop proudly informs the newspapers and shows the telegram to his sons' boyhood friend, Paul Laurence Dunbar.	Ferber attempts to fly a motorized copy of the 1901 Wright Glider while tethered to a crank. It didn't work. The Wrights were the first to realize that propellers were wings that spun in a circle. Consequently, they could be designed using much of the same data they had gathered from their wind tunnel. While the Wright brothers were constructing the powered Flyer at their camp in 1903, they continued to make practice glides with the 1902 glider. The modified the rudder so that it would behave more like the Flyer in flight. The Langley Great Aerodrome slides into the Potomac River "like a handful of wet cement" according to one newspaper account. The Wright Flyer 1 just before the December 14th attempt to fly. The Flyer 852 feet from its starting point after the fourth flight on December 17, 1903.