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Photos by Fritz Rethage
Aviation Expo 2002
Teterboro Airport, August 16 & 17, 2002
Sponsored by The NJ Aviation Hall of Fame
Tri-State Aviation Expo 2002 [General] [Models] [Trucks & Cars]
Kitty Hawk Flyer
Model is shown at 1/2 size
In the fall of 1903 the Wright brothers shipped their airplane to Kitty Hawk, on
the coast of North Carolina. Here they had tested their gliders previously because of the
hills and steady winds. On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville made the first flight, which lasted 12
seconds and covered 120 feet.
The Wrights improved their machine so that by 1905 they could fly more than 24 miles in 38
minutes. In 1908 Wilbur went to France and flew a Wright machine before the royalty of
Europe. That same year Orville demonstrated one of the Wright planes at Fort Myer, Va.,
before government officials. During one of his flights, Orville took up a passenger,
Lieut. Thomas E. Selfridge of the United States Army Signal Corps. Trouble developed and
the plane crashed, killing Selfridge. He was the first person to be killed in an airplane
In 1909 the trials were successful and the War Department purchased the improved machine.
Thus the United States became the first nation to own a military airplane. Source: Compton's
This historic photograph shows Orville Wright making the first powered flight in a
heavier-than air craft on December 17, 1903 near Kitty Hawk, N.C.. His brother Wilber runs
alongside. Smithsonian Institute.
The Wright Brothers Flyer now hangs in the Smithsonian's Milestones
of Flight hall.
Webster's Encyclopedia --
Wright Orville 1871-1948 and Wilbur 1867-1912: US inventors; brothers who
pioneered piloted, powered flight. Inspired by Otto Lilienthal's gliding, they perfected
their piloted glider 1902.
In 1903 they built a powered machine, a 12- hp 341-kg/750-lb plane, and became the first
to make a successful powered flight, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville flew 36.6
m/120 ft in 12 sec; Wilbur, 260 m/852 ft in 59 sec.
Both brothers were born in Dayton, Ohio, and became interested in flight at early ages.
They devised a wing-control system and added a rudder and a balancing tail to existing
gliders. By 1903 they had built and flown a power-driven plane; they received a patent in
1906 and in 1909 set up the American Wright Corp to produce planes for the War Department.
After Wilbur's death Orville did research and served on the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics 1915-48.
Wings & Wheels Expo at Teterboro Airport on June 2nd & 3rd, 2001
[General & Military][B-17 Yankee Lady][DC-4
Spirit of Freedom]
[Various aircraft] [Antique
Note: Due to the security
situation at Teterboro Airport following September 11, 2001, the NJ Aviation Hall of
Fame's Annual 'Wings and Wheels' show was cancelled for 2002. The Museum hopes to
continue with the Wings and Wheels event and the Tri-State Aviation Expo in 2003.