The Wright brothers' first flight was shorter than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.

On the morning of December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers achieved a milestone that changed history. Orville Wright piloted the Wright Flyer for a distance of 120 feet (36.5 meters) while staying airborne for exactly 12 seconds. This historic distance is significantly shorter than the 211-foot (64.4-meter) wingspan of a Boeing 747-400, meaning the entire first flight could fit within the width of the modern jet's wings.The Wright Flyer was a biplane with a wooden frame made of giant spruce and a fabric covering of Pride of the West muslin. It was powered by a custom-built 12-horsepower gasoline engine because existing car engines were too heavy for the task. The brothers used a sophisticated system called wing-warping to achieve lateral control, which allowed them to bank the aircraft during flight.Success was not accidental but the result of years of scientific experimentation. Between 1900 and 1902, Wilbur and Orville tested over 200 different wing shapes in a homemade wind tunnel to collect data on lift and drag. This rigorous aerodynamic testing allowed them to solve the three-axis control problem that had defeated previous aviation pioneers like Otto Lilienthal and Samuel Langley.While the first flight was short, the fourth flight of that same day lasted 59 seconds and covered 852 feet. These achievements were officially recorded and later verified by the Smithsonian Institution and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Today, the original 1903 Wright Flyer is preserved at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., as a testament to this engineering breakthrough.