Tech Meets History

Drones and the 12-second flight at Kitty Hawk

Today’s tech: small aircraft that fly themselves

The history

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright piloted the Wright Flyer on a 12-second flight covering 120 feet. Later that morning Wilbur flew 852 feet in 59 seconds. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum describes it as the first powered, controlled flight of a heavier-than-air machine.

The parallel

Every drone depends on the problem the Wrights worked hardest to solve: control. Their Flyer darted up and down because the elevator control was overly sensitive. Modern drones lean on sensors and software to keep themselves steady, solving the same problem in a new way.

Talk about it

1. The first flight lasted 12 seconds. Why did that short hop still count as a turning point?
2. The Wrights built and tested three full-sized gliders before adding an engine. What does that tell you about how inventions get made?
3. Pieces of the 1903 Flyer went to the Moon on Apollo 11 in 1969. What changed in those 66 years?

Sources

• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: 1903 Wright Flyer
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: The Wright Brothers Made History at Kitty Hawk
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Explore the Wright Flyer

Sources checked Oct 17, 2026.