Bettmann Archive/Getty Images (Wright brothers); All illustrations by Berat Pekmezci

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The Wright Brothers

They turned the dream of human flight into reality.

January 8, 2024
By Alicia Green

As You Read, Think About: What would the world be like without airplanes?

A cold wind whipped across a beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was December 17, 1903. Orville Wright slowly rose into the air in a small airplane he had built with his older brother Wilbur. 

The plane, called the Wright Flyer, landed just 12 seconds later. But the moment was historic. For the first time, a pilot had flown an engine-powered aircraft.

“No one had ever done anything like that before,” says Beth Hudick. She is a park ranger at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. “It was absolutely a moment that changed history.”

Wilbur and Orville made three more flights that day, each longer than the one before it. The brothers had set a course for aviation that few could have imagined.

Curious Minds

Wilbur was born in 1867, four years before Orville. Both were interested in flying from an early age. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, they enjoyed playing with a small helicopter-like toy. Fascinated, they tried to make their own.

That curiosity about flight grew as they became adults. At the time, people had flown mainly in hot-air balloons and gliders—aircraft with no engines. In 1899, the Wrights set out to build a piloted aircraft that could take off, fly, and land under its own power. 

The brothers had several problems to solve. They had to figure out how to power the aircraft, lift it off the ground, and control it once in the air. 

Over the next four years, Orville and Wilbur spent countless hours experimenting with different aircraft designs. Before attempting powered flight, they made hundreds of test flights in gliders they had built.

Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

The Wrights’ attempts at flight didn’t always go smoothly. Here, Orville has a rough landing in a glider. 

Up, Up, and Away

In 1903, the brothers finished the Wright Flyer. The plane had wooden propellers and two long wings that were covered in fabric. It also had a small gasoline-powered engine. 

After their first successful flights over Kitty Hawk, the Wrights worked to improve their design. In 1905, Wilbur flew 24 miles in 39 minutes in a new plane.

Despite the brothers’ successes, many people refused to believe humans could fly. Few had actually seen the brothers’ planes in action. A few years later, the Wrights held flying exhibitions to show their skills to the world. They finally received the credit they deserved.

“They proved everybody wrong who said it was impossible,” Hudick explains. 

Daring to Dream

Wilbur died in 1912. Orville lived another 36 years. It was long enough for him to see how his inventions inspired others to fly farther, higher, and faster.

Today, it’s hard to imagine a world without planes. Thanks to these pioneers, we don’t have to.

“This is a story about people who didn’t accept that something was impossible,” Hudick says. “They inspired a lot of other people to dream.”

First Flight

December 17, 1903: Kitty Hawk, North Carolina


Orville climbs onto the lower wing of the Flyer and grasps the controls.


The engine rumbles to life . . .

The propellers begin to spin . . .

The Flyer slowly chugs forward for about 60 feet before rising into the air.

The wobbly 12-second trip is the first powered flight in history.


1. What details does the author give to show that the Wright brothers were curious as kids?

2. What does Beth Hudick mean when she says “This is a story about people who didn’t accept that something was impossible”? Use text evidence to support your response.

3. Look at the illustrations in the sidebar, “First Flight.” How do they add to your understanding of the Wright Brothers’ accomplishment?

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