Type: first successful powered aircraft
Powerplant: 1x straight-4 water-cooled piston engine, 12 hp (9 kW)
Maximum speed: 30 mph (48 km/h)
Weights: empty 605 lb (274 kg)
Dimensions:
Span: 40 ft 4 in (12.29 m)
Length: 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Height: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Wing area: 510 ft2 (47 m2)
On display in the hangar bay of Yorktown is a full scale replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer built by Robert Bosch Corporation's apprentice program in 1993. This exhibit pays tribute to the origins of manned flight.
The date was December 17, 1903 and the place was Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Heading into the Atlantic sea breeze, the Wright Brothers forever changed human history with the first successful powered flight of a heavier than air machine. With brother Orville stretched out, head first on the Flyer, that first flight lasted 12 seconds with a distance of 120 feet. The Wrights launched the Flyer three times that day with the longest flight going 852 feet and lasting 59 seconds.
The Wright Brothers are credited with overcoming the three basic problems that had hampered aviation's infancy; lift, propulsion and control. To say the Flyer pilot's job was hands on is an understatement. Orville and Wilber (who would pilot as well) had to shift their hips from side to side to maneuver the wing tips allowing the Flyer to turn. A hand control operated the elevator, dictating altitude.
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Within one hour, USS Laffey was hit by five Japanese Kamikazes and three enemy bombs.
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