We've all been taught about the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, and their famous December 17, 1903 achievement of the first powered flight. The potential for sustainable flight was there, but their initial flight lasted less than a minute and achieved heights of roughly ten feet. While even this was ground breaking, it was not a viable machine for commercial or government use. It would not be until October 5, 1905, when Wilbur Wright flew the Flyer III 24 miles in 39 minutes and 23 seconds, that the full potential of powered flight was finally in sight. That single flight was longer than all flights in 1903 and 1904 combined. The Wright Brothers wrote to the US Secretary of War, William Howard Taft, offering to sell aircraft to the U.S. Military.
While the first flight rocked the world, it didn't really change anything other than proving powered flight was, in fact, possible. It would take two more years before practical flight was realistic. Over the next few years the Wright Brothers would travel the world, contracting with local firms to build their Flyers. On June 29, 1909, they finally demonstrated the first U.S. Military plane, the Military Flyer. That day Orville took the new plane up. And into a tree. After repairs the first successful demonstration occurred on July 27. And the rest, as they say, is history.
-Professor Walter