On This Day–

The Wright Brothers

It was December 17, 1903, that Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight with a powered aircraft. The first flight lasted 59 seconds and went 852 feet at an elevation of 20 feet. Orville had just flown into history.

The brothers owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. and experimented with flight there for almost ten years before finding success. Orville and Wilbur chose the beach at Kitty Hawk because a constant wind blew off the ocean and would help their aircraft fly.

In the above photo, Orville is seen lying inside the aircraft and Wilbur is the man standing at its right.

It’s hard to believe that today, just 116 years later, it is almost routine to fly across the ocean or around the world.

Photo by Ben Neale on Unsplash

If you plan on traveling for the holidays, don’t forget to pack your sense of humor–and a good book (I suggest one of mine!).

Enjoy your holiday! Sonja