When the Wright brothers made history on December 17, 1903, they weren’t breaking speed records, they were redefining what was possible.
Their first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, lasted just 12 seconds. The plane, named the Wright Flyer, traveled 120 feet, about the length of a basketball court, at a ground speed of only 6.8 mph.
To put that in kid-friendly terms: That’s slower than most people jog. A determined toddler could almost keep up.
But speed wasn’t the goal. Getting off the ground at all was the true miracle.
Even though the Flyer was moving at less than 7 mph across the ground, it had a headwind of 20 mph. So technically, the air was rushing past the wings fast enough to create lift and that’s what made flight possible.
Their success launched the entire field of aviation, from slow and shaky wooden gliders to supersonic jets.
Imagine telling the Wright brothers that one day, planes would fly 30,000 feet above Earth at 600 mph, streaming movies and serving snacks.
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