Designed and built by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, it was the first aircraft in history to make sustained, controlled and repeated powered flights .
General information
Designed and built by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, it was the first aircraft in history to make sustained, controlled and repeated powered flights, fulfilling humanity's ancient dream of flight. The Flyer is a "canard" biplane — with the elevators at the front — with a wooden structure and fabric covering, and a central engine driving two pusher propellers through chain transmissions. The pilot lay in a horizontal position.
On 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk (North Carolina, United States) the Flyer made four flights: the first and shortest of 12 seconds and 36 metres, the last and longest of 59 seconds and 260 metres. The more advanced versions of the Flyer, which appeared in 1904 and 1905, made progressively longer flights, eventually covering 38 km in 39 minutes and confirming the value of the 1903 experiments.
Length 6.43 m
Wingspan 12.29 m
Height 2.74 m
Wing area 47 sq m
Empty weight 274 kg
Max take-off weight 338 kg
Max speed 48 km/h
History of this aircraft
The Flyer 1-1903M was the only Flyer I in the world to fly on 17 December 2003, on the hundredth anniversary of the Wright brothers, at the Guidonia military airport (RM) at the invitation of the Italian Air Force. It was built in 1990-91 from the drawings of the USAF National Air and Space Museum in Dayton (Ohio). It retains the wing-warping lateral control system and the prone pilot position. Modifications include the use of a Rotax engine and a releasable dolly in place of the launch rail.
First flight date: 1992