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Wrights take historic flight Did you know that it was exactly 100 years ago on the morning of Dec. 17, 1903, that Wilbur and Orville Wright accomplished a deed that marked humankind’s journey into the sky? On that memorable date, the Wright brothers took turns piloting and monitoring their flying machine in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Orville piloted the first flight, which lasted just 12 seconds. On the fourth and final flight of the day, Wilbur traveled 852 feet, remaining airborne for 57 seconds. That morning the brothers became the first people to demonstrate sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine under the complete control of the pilot. Compiled by liberal arts professor Weihua Zhang from The Library of Congress Web site. |
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