Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong famously pointed out that sometimes even a small distance can make a big difference – "one small step for (a) man" can be "a giant leap for mankind." Similarly, the first flight undertaken by the Wright Brothers might not have been very long, but it certainly was important, as it marked the birth of today's fastest and most convenient mode of transportation.
Back in 1903, of course, even lifting off the ground and moving through the air just a few feet must have seemed magical. So, although the distance that Orville Wright traveled on that first 12-second flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (120 feet, or 37 meters) is far less than the wingspan of a modern Boeing 747 (224 feet 7 inches, or 68.4 m), it was enough to prove that mankind could actually take to the skies. The speed of that December 17, 1903 flight wasn't anything to write home about, either, topping out at around 30 mph (48.3 km/h), but it proved that it didn't take all that much to provide lift for a fairly heavy piece of machinery.
Today, the average airplane weighs about 90,000 pounds (41,000 kilos) and travels at roughly 500 mph (804 km/hr). All of that from two bicycle mechanics hoping to make history. Talk about the Wright stuff!
Setting things Wright:
- Orville and Wilbur Wright flipped a coin to decide who would take that first flight; Wilbur won, but steered upwards too quickly and crashed on his attempt, so Orville tried (and succeeded) after that.
- The Wright Brothers became fascinated with the possibility of flying after their father gave them a toy helicopter as children.
- Wilbur once said the brothers didn't have time for a wife and an airplane, neither of them ever married.