In May 1899 Wilbur wrote to the Smithsonian Institution. He asked for its publications about flight. That summer the Wrights built a biplane kite with a five-foot wingspan. They used it to test their way of steering. Before they chose a place to fly, they asked the U.S. Weather Bureau about places with the right wind.

They chose Kitty Hawk. It had strong winds and soft sand to land on. In September 1900 the brothers made their first trip there to test a glider. On the last day of that season Wilbur flew the glider about a dozen times. The next year's glider had a 22-foot wingspan and weighed about 100 pounds.

In 1901 the Wrights hired a mechanic named Charlie Taylor to look after their bicycle shop. That year they also built their own wind tunnel to test wing shapes. Later they built their own engine, because they could not buy one light enough for their airplane. It made about 12 horsepower.

The Flyer weighed about 600 pounds. It had two propellers at the back that turned in opposite directions. It had skids instead of wheels, and it started each flight along a launching rail on a wheeled dolly.

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, Orville was the pilot on the first flight. It lasted 12 seconds. It was the world's first powered, controlled airplane flight. Later that day Wilbur flew the longest flight, 852 feet in 59 seconds. A gust of wind tipped over the Flyer after its last flight that day, and it never flew again.

Two years on, on October 5, 1905, Wilbur flew the Wrights' third airplane in circles for 39 minutes. He went about 24 miles. Years later, astronaut Neil Armstrong carried a piece of cloth and a piece of wood from the 1903 Flyer to the Moon.

Words to know

• biplane: two-wing plane
• wingspan: wingtip to wingtip
• skids: sliding runners
• dolly: wheeled cart

The short version

Wilbur and Orville Wright were bicycle shop owners from Dayton, Ohio. They asked the Smithsonian for books, built kites, gliders, a wind tunnel and an engine, and made the world's first powered, controlled airplane flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Quick facts

• The first flight on December 17, 1903, lasted 12 seconds, with Orville as pilot.
• The longest of the four flights that day went 852 feet and lasted 59 seconds, with Wilbur at the controls.
• In 1901 the Wrights built their own wind tunnel to test wing shapes.
• The Wrights built their own engine because they could not buy one light enough.
• On October 5, 1905, Wilbur flew circles for 39 minutes, about 24 miles.