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Need to get your bearings? Try our Museum Guide.

Want to ask a question? Tell us something? Arrange a showing of one of our airplanes? Ping:
mailto:[email protected]

Meanwhile:
How about a
little music?
We have a selection of tunes that were popular during the first days of aviation, performed by Sue Keller, courtesy the Ragtime Press:

Alexander's Ragtime Band
Irving Berlin 1911
Aviation Rag
Mark Janza 1905
Maple Leaf Rag
Scott Joplin 1909
St. Louis Rag
Tom Turpin 1903
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
Gilbert/Muir 1912
In the century after the first sustained, controlled flights at Kitty Hawk, aircraft technology progressed at a pace that has been unequalled by any other invention, save the computer. The Wright brother's best flight on December 17, 1903 covered only 852 feet at a speed of about 34 mph. Today, aircraft routinely fly across oceans at speeds in excess of 1000 mph. The space shuttles circles the globe at over 15,000 mph.

This series of timelines list the events the brought us from Kitty Hawk to outer space in less than a century.
The First to Fly, 1904 to 1909 -- The Wright Brothers develop their temperamental Kitty Hawk Flyer into a practical airplane, then they show the world how to fly. Meanwhile, airplane builders on both sides of the Atlantic air making tentative flights of their own.
The Pioneers, 1910 to 1914 -- Once shown the way, aeronautical engineers in America and Europe quickly catch up to the Wrights and surpass them. Races and air meets improve the speed and endurance of aircraft. The box-kite appearance of the first primitive pusher aircraft gives way to the streamlined design of the tractor biplanes and monoplanes.
The Great War, 1915 to 1918 -- The First World War elevates the aircraft from a machine for scouting and observation to a versatile weapon with both defensive and offensive roles in warfare. The first fighters and bombers evolve during this conflict.

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Like all good scholars, we don't pretend to have all the answers, and we're constantly searching for new information or ways to make our exhibits better and more accurate. We also welcome Wright scholars and enthusiasts who would like to participate. If you have information that we should include, or want to add to what's already here, please write. Address your comments to mailto:[email protected].
Last updated: January 11, 2001.