Flyer

The name of the Wright brothers' plane was the Flyer. A wood and fabric biplane (an airplane having two sets of wings, one above the other), the Flyer was originally used by the brothers as a glider. It measured 40 feet 4 inches (12 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip. For their historic first flight, Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-194 outfitted the Flyer with a four-cylinder, 12-horsepower gasoline engine and two propellers, all of their own design. (Horsepower is a unit of energy or work.)

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright made the first flight on a craft that was engine-powered and heavier-than-air. He piloted the craft by lying in the middle of the lower wing. The craft flew 120 feet (37 meters) in 12 seconds.