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.