Maiden flight

Although a general invitation had been extended to the people living within five or six miles, not many were willing to face the rigors of a cold December wind in order to see, as they no doubt thought, another flying machine not fly.

The first flight lasted only 12 seconds, a flight very modest compared with that of birds, but it was, nevertheless, the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in free flight, had sailed forward on a level course without reduction of speed, and had finally landed without being wrecked.

The second and third flights were a little longer, and the fourth lasted 59 seconds, covering a distance of 852 feet over the ground against a 20-mile wind.

After the last flight the machine was carried back to camp and set down in what was thought to be a safe place.

Recording by Avae in March 2010.

Chapter two of The Early History of the Airplane by Orville and Wilbur Wright.

How We Made the First Flight by Orville Wright.

The flights of the 1902 glider had demonstrated the efficiency of our system of maintaining equilibrium and also the accuracy of the laboratory work upon which the design of the glider was based.