First Flight With The Wright Brothers

National Aviation Day, a holiday established by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939 to celebrate developments in aviation. The date selected was the birth date of aviation pioneer Orville Wright, who, along with his older brother Wilbur, is credited with inventing and building the world’s first practical fixed-wing aircraft and making the first controlled, powered and sustained flight more than a hundred years ago.

1st Photo: Wilbur Wright pilots a full-size glider down the steep slope of Big Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on October 10, 1902. This model was the third iteration of the Wright brothers’ early gliders, equipped with wings that would warp to steer, a rear vertical rudder, and a forward elevator. (Library of Congress)

To view the remaining 17 photo’s: The Atlantic