Thursday, December 17, 2015

Wright Brothers Day

One hundred and twelve years ago, two men from Ohio made the first powered flight of an aircraft.  They flew their Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  This spot was chosen because of the consistent winds that came off the ocean.  The first flight occurred at 10:35 A.M. and flew for about 120 feet.  There are now aircraft that are longer than that.
There is some controversy over whether or not it qualified as a flight.  There are also some claims that there are people that flew before the Wright Brothers.  There are also some claims that they didn't have a real aircraft.  Well in my opinion, it had wings, a tail and control surfaces, so it qualified.  They made longer flights as time progressed.  Eventually they made long distance flights.   So I'd say they qualified as the first flight.
You take a look at the F-22 Raptor and can see just how far we've come in a little over 100 years.  It can fly quite a bit further than 120 feet and much faster than the Wright Flyer.  It is one of a few aircraft that fly faster than the speed of sound without afterburners.

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