On December 17, 1903 the Wright Brother’s 1903 Flyer made the first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, in North Carolina. Four times that day, the Flyer left the ground. The first flight was made by Orville Wright who was airborne for twelve seconds. The instant of the first takeoff was recorded on film by a volunteer using a camera system set up by the Wright brothers, recording one of the most famous images in human history. The longest flight that day was Wilbur’s 59 second flight which carried him 852 feet. The dream of sustained, powered, controlled flight became a reality that day and the world would never be the same.

Side profile of the Wright Flyer.

The configuration of the Wright Flyer was similar in design but larger than their 1902 glider (also displayed here at the Museum). Made with a spruce framework, the wings and control surfaces were covered with muslin. The two counter-rotating propellers were carved from laminated spruce and driven with a system of sprockets and chains. Like the flyer itself, the 4-cylinder engine used that day was quite simple. It was designed and built by their mechanic Charles Taylor.

For takeoff, the Flyer rested on a cradle equipped with skate-like rollers that served as the rear wheels during take-off from a long wooden beam. The cradle was left behind as the Flyer became airborne. The front “wheel” was a bicycle hub which rolled along a monorail and supported the front of the Flyer prior to takeoff. The Flyer landed on skids which were adequate for the sand of Kitty Hawk.

The Museum's Wright Flyer reproduction in our Rotunda.

The pilot laid on the bottom wing to the left of the aircraft centerline to counter balance the engine installed to the right of the centerline. Lateral or roll control was accomplished with hip movements in a “saddle” attached to cables which “warped” the wings and turned the rudder. The forward elevator was controlled by a lever in the pilot’s left hand. The Wrights installed instruments of their own designs to record air velocity, engine revolutions, and time in the air.

The reconstructed original Flyer is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. The San Diego Air & Space Museum’s reproduction was crafted by the Valentine Aero Company of San Luis Obispo, California. The project was sponsored by the Dayton-Hudson Foundation and the Flyer was originally installed at the Museum in 1980. Damaged several years ago, the Flyer was taken to Gillespie Field in El Cajon where restoration was completed in the form you see in the Museum today with no covering on the wings to show the aircraft’s construction and the expose the skills of our restoration volunteers. The aircraft was returned to its place in the Museum in February of 2024.  As part of the history of the Wright Brother’s undertaking, volunteers at the Museum built an operational Wright engine which is demonstrated to the public once a year on December 17.