The first airplane flight in 1903 lasted only 12 seconds and covered 120 feet.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were bicycle mechanics from Ohio. They studied how birds fly to understand how to control an aircraft. They built their own lightweight engine because car engines at the time were too heavy. This engine had 12 horsepower and used an aluminum block to save weight.The brothers chose Kitty Hawk for their tests because it had steady winds and soft sand for landings. On December 17, 1903, the plane moved at about 7 miles per hour against the wind. They used a technique called wing-warping to tilt the wings and turn the plane. This solved the problem of how to steer in the air.The brothers made four flights that day. The longest flight lasted 59 seconds and went 852 feet. Their wooden propellers were very efficient at pushing the air. Even though they succeeded, many people did not believe them at first. Today, their original plane is kept in a museum in Washington, D.C.