when was the wright brothers very first flight
Printer Friendly Version >>>. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with. Orville's brother Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet.