Most people know that two brothers named Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted experiments which led to sustained, powered, manned flight in a heavier-than-air machine. Many or most, however, are unaware of the fascinating details that surround this gift of flight to all who would follow.
And haven’t the 114 years of flight that have followed been fascinating:
- 17 December 1903, Wright Flyer, Wilbur & Orville Wright, first sustained, powered, manned flight.
- 1 January 1914, first flight of The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airport Line, the world’s first commercial airline, lasting just four months.
- 20-21 May (33 ½ hours) 1927, Charles Lindbergh, Spirit of St. Louis, first transatlantic flight.
- 14 October 1947, Chuck Yeager, Bell X-1, U.S. Air Force experimental rocket-powered aircraft, breaking the sound barrier.
- 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin, Soviet Vostok 1, first human in space.
- 19 April 1971, Soviet Salyut 1, the world’s first space station.
- 12 April 1981, Space Shuttle Columbia, first flight, the Shuttle and 4 sister ships eventually carrying over 850 astronauts into space in the succeeding 30 years.
It’s taken man 200,000 years of human development to get us where we are today, with many of the last 5,000 years filled with an increasing desire to fly. Then came the Wright brothers to get it right! That timeline makes the last 114 years all the more astounding!
Our photo of the glider from 1902 as shown in the museum on our visit to Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.
To study all of this close up, Mary & I visited Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton, Ohio this past June, and then the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC this past September, the two-visits recently posted on our website as a Park Visit Story. We hope clicking the below link and reading the story will inspire your visits to these parks as well.