One hundred twenty-two years ago, in 1902, the Wright Brothers made history by performing the first controlled, sustained, powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Last Wednesday, December 17, history was made again when a team of US students unveiled the first plane built in the historic location since the original Wright Brothers creation.
The team, graduates of First Flight High School s Aviation Program, built the aircraft over 2 years. They unveiled a raft on December 17, the exact day the Wright Brothers first took flight, over a century ago. A historic new aircraft More than 100 people, including Paul Wright-Jameson, a great-great-nephew of Wilbur and Orville Wright, gathered at Kill Devil Hills to celebrate the Wright Brothers first flight.
It s just really kind of heartwarming that people take enough seriousness about the project actually to come here, Paul Wright-Jameson said in a local news report. We have been coming to Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills for decades and decades because we were immersed in the story of the Wright Brothers. For two years, students and graduates of First Flight High School s Aviation Program have been building an aircraft in a building at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
All these young men and women for the rest of their lives can say they built the first aircraft on this spot since the Wright Brothers, said the program s aviation instructor, retired US Navy Rear Admiral Joey JT Tynch. They embraced that, and they just ran with it so hard, he continued. This aircraft you see in front of you has thousands upon thousands of parts, and they began with wooden crates full of these parts, and have assembled the aircraft over time.
It s been phenomenal to watch and to be a part of. Celebrating the Wright Brothers While the new aircraft was unveiled last week, the team behind the construction plans to fly it in 2026. While the aircraft was unveiled on December 17 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the brothers historic flight, its very existence is a testament to their legacy.
During the unveiling event, aviation legend William P. Lear was also inducted into the First Flight Society. Lear, who founded the Learjet Company, played a key role in the manufacturing of aircraft radio receivers for navigation. The Wright brothers were inspired by Otto Lilienthal, a German pioneer of aviation who was the first to perform successful glider flights.
Orville Wright was the first of the brothers to fly on their invention. This was purely down to fate, as the brothers decided who would fly aboard the plane by tossing a coin.
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