Telegram from Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to His Father Announcing Four Successful Flights, 1903 December 17 - World Digital Library World Digital Library Telegram from Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to His Father Announcing Four Successful Flights, 1903 December 17 Description At approximately 10:35 in the morning on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first powered, controlled, and sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet (37 meters). Orville and his brother Wilbur made three more flights that day, the longest of which covered 852 feet (260 meters) in 59 seconds. With this telegram, sent from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in the late afternoon of the same day, Orville informed their father of the achievement. The text reads: “Success four flights this morning all against twenty one mile wind started from Level with engine power alone average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform Press home Christmas”.

The Wright brothers ran a shop in Dayton, Ohio, where they rented, sold, and manufactured bicycles. Their father, the Most Reverend Milton Wright, was a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, whose gift of a toy “helicopter” to his sons in 1878, when Orville was seven years old and Wilbur aged eleven, has been credited with helping to kindle in them their fascination with mechanical flight. The brothers chose Kitty Hawk as the location of the first flight based on information provided by the Weather Bureau in Washington, DC. The Wright Brothers - First Flight, 1903 First Flight, 1903 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 Wilbur flies a glider in earlier tests Kitty Hawk, Oct. 10, 1902. Orville's brother Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet.

The brothers began their experimentation in flight in 1896 at their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. They selected the beach at Kitty Hawk as their proving ground because of the constant wind that added lift to their craft. In 1902 they came to the beach with their glider and made more than 700 successful flights. Having perfected glided flight, the next step was to move to powered flight. No automobile manufacturer could supply an engine both light enough and powerful enough for their needs. So they designed and built their own. All of their hard work, experimentation and innovation came together that December day as they took to the sky and forever changed the course of history. The brothers notified several newspapers prior to their historic flight, but only one - the local journal - made mention of the event. "I found the control of the front rudder quite difficult" The conditions on the morning of December 17 were perfect for flight - high, consistent winds blowing from the north. At about 10:30 that morning, Orville Wright lay down on the plane's wing surface and brought its engine to life in preparation of launching it and himself into history.

His diary tells the story: ADVERTISMENT "When we got up, a wind of between 20 and 25 miles was blowing from the north. We got the machine out early and put out the signal for the men at the station. Before we were quite ready, John T. Daniels, W. S. Dough, A. D. Etheridge, W. C. Brinkley of Manteo, and Johnny Moore of Nags Head arrived. After running the engine and propellers a few minutes to get them in working order, I got on the machine at 10:35 for the first trial. The wind, according to our anemometers at this time, was blowing a little over 20 miles (corrected) 27 miles according to the Government anemometer at Kitty Hawk. On slipping the rope the machine started off increasing in speed to probably 7 or 8 miles. The machine lifted from the truck just as it was entering on the fourth rail. Mr. Daniels took a picture just as it left the tracks.

I found the control of the front rudder quite difficult on account of its being balanced too near the center and thus had a tendency to turn itself when started so that the rudder was turned too far on one side and then too far on the other. As a result the machine would rise suddenly to about 10 ft. and then as suddenly, on turning the rudder, dart for the ground. A sudden dart when out about 100 feet from the end of the tracks ended the flight. Time about 12 seconds (not known exactly as watch was not promptly stopped). The lever for throwing off the engine was broken, and the skid under the rudder cracked. After repairs, at 20 min. after 11 o'clock Will made the second trial. The course was about like mine, up and down but a little longer over the ground though about the same in time. Dist. not measured but about 175 ft. Wind speed not quite so strong. Wilbur looks on as Orville pilots the first powered flight With the aid of the station men present, we picked the machine up and carried it back to the starting ways.

At about 20 minutes till 12 o'clock I made the third trial. When out about the same distance as Will's, I met with a strong gust from the left which raised the left wing and sidled the machine off to the right in a lively manner. I immediately turned the rudder to bring the machine down and then worked the end control. Much to our surprise, on reaching the ground the left wing struck first, showing the lateral control of this machine much more effective than on any of our former ones. At the time of its sidling it had raised to a height of probably 12 to 14 feet. At just 12 o'clock Will started on the fourth and last trip. The machine started off with its ups and downs as it had before, but by the time he had gone over three or four hundred feet he had it under much better control, and was traveling on a fairly even course. It proceeded in this manner till it reached a small hummock out about 800 feet from the starting ways, when it began its pitching again and suddenly darted into the ground. The front rudder frame was badly broken up, but the main frame suffered none at all.

The distance over the ground was 852 feet in 59 seconds. The engine turns was 1071, but this included several seconds while on the starting ways and probably about a half second after landing. The jar of landing had set the watch on machine back so that we have no exact record for the 1071 turns. Will took a picture of my third flight just before the gust struck the machine. The machine left the ways successfully at every trial, and the tail was never caught by the truck as we had feared. After removing the front rudder, we carried the machine back to camp. We set the machine down a few feet west of the building, and while standing about discussing the last flight, a sudden gust of wind struck the machine and started to turn it over. All rushed to stop it. Will who was near one end ran to the front, but too late to do any good. Mr. Daniels and myself seized spars at the rear, but to no purpose. The machine gradually turned over on us. Mr.

Daniels, having had no experience in handling a machine of this kind, hung on to it from the inside, and as a result was knocked down and turned over and over with it as it went. His escape was miraculous, as he was in with the engine and chains. The engine legs were all broken off, the chain guides badly bent, a number of uprights, and nearly all the rear ends of the ribs were broken. One spar only was broken. After dinner we went to Kitty Hawk to send off telegram to M.W. While there we called on Capt. and Mrs. Hobbs, Dr. Cogswell and the station men." References: Orville Wright's diary appears in: McFarland, Marvin, The Papers of Wilbur & Orville Wright (2001); Crouch, Tom D., The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright (1989); Wright, Orville, How We Invented the Airplane (1953). How To Cite This Article: "The Wright Brothers - First Flight, 1903", EyeWitness to History, (2003). Both brothers were eager to pilot the first flight.

A coin toss gave Wilbur the honor, but his attempt on Dec. 14 failed. Orville was successful on the next attempt on Dec. 17 The distance covered by the Wright's first flight was less than the wingspan of today's 747 Jumbo Jet. Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram : NPR Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram Embed Embed Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram Western Union Sends Its Last Telegram Embed Embed The telegram the Wright brothers sent to their father informing him of their successful first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., Dec. 17, 1903. Library of Congress hide caption toggle caption Library of Congress The telegram the Wright brothers sent to their father informing him of their successful first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., Dec. 17, 1903. Library of Congress On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse sends the first electric-telegraph message: "What hath God wrought?" Library of Congress hide caption toggle caption Library of Congress The era of the telegram, an icon of communication dating back 150 years, came to a quiet end last week. Western Union says it delivered its final telegram on Friday.

Lost and Found Sound Telegraph Stories April 23, 2005 In truth, the telegram long ago succumbed to long distance telephones, faxes, e-mail and instant messaging. Even deliverers who sang them couldn't save telegrams from the dustbin of history. The fact that one final telegram was sent last Friday is a tribute not to the telegram's endurance, but to the glacial tediousness of extinction itself. What will we remember of the telegram? Probably the prose style the economic of telegraphy engendered. Punctuation cost extra, so the word STOP substituted for a period. Otherwise, it was brevity in the extreme — pronouns, verbs omitted. The telegram made tabloid headline writers out of ordinary folks sending urgent messages. Sometimes those urgent messages contained the worst news, sometimes the best. Tom Standage, author of The Victorian Internet, says telegrams were most popular in the 1920s and '30s, when they were cheaper than a long-distance call. But the telephone and e-mail eventually led to the extinction of the telegram. Article continues after sponsorship Telegram from Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk | UKRAINE AIR ALLIANCE P.J.S.C.

UKRAINE AIR ALLIANCE P.J.S.C. December 1903 Telegram from Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk At approximately 10:35 in the morning on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first powered, controlled, and sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet (37 meters). Orville and his brother Wilbur made three more flights that day, the longest of which covered 852 feet (260 meters) in 59 seconds. With this telegram, sent from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in the late afternoon of the same day, Orville informed their father of the achievement. The text reads: “Success four flights this morning all against twenty one mile wind started from Level with engine power alone average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform Press home Christmas”. The Wright brothers ran a shop in Dayton, Ohio, where they rented, sold, and manufactured bicycles.

Their father, the Most Reverend Milton Wright, was a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, whose gift of a toy “helicopter” to his sons in 1878, when Orville was seven years old and Wilbur aged eleven, has been credited with helping to kindle in them their fascination with mechanical flight. The brothers chose Kitty Hawk as the location of the first flight based on information provided by the Weather Bureau in Washington, DC. Wrights’ First Flight Distorted by Press Wrights’ First Flight Distorted by Press by Dr. Richard Stimson in Inventing The Airplane The age of flight dawned on the morning of December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC when the Wright Brothers’ engine-driven heavier-than-air Flyer lifted into the air and traveled 120 feet in 12 seconds. It was an extraordinary moment. The way that the press handled the event was far less than extraordinary. That afternoon, after eating a leisurely lunch, the brothers set out about 2 o’clock to walk the four miles to the weather station office in Kitty Hawk. They sent a telegram of their success to their 74-year-old father in Dayton, Ohio.

Three months earlier, while seeing his sons off in Dayton, Bishop Wright had given them a dollar to cover the cost of sending a telegram as soon as they made a successful flight. Now was the time. There was no Western Union in Kitty Hawk, but Jim Dosher at the weather station had agreed to communicate with the weather bureau office in Norfolk who in turn would contact Western Union. Dosher, however, was unable to deliver the news because of a break in the telegraph line. He telephoned Alpheus Drinkwater at another location on the Outer Banks who transmitted the coded message of the Wright Brothers’ successful flight to Norfolk. Drinkwater later said he was bit annoyed that he had to relay a few unimportant telegrams to the mainland. (Note: The accuracy of the last paragraph involving the role of Drinkwater is in some dispute among historians. On the occasion of the dedication of the Wright Memorial in 1932, Orville Wright was asked who sent the first message – Drinkwater or Dozier? Orville stated: “The first message was sent by W. J. Dozier.” – News and Observer, Nov.

20, 1932 ) Orville wrote the message that was sent as follows: “Success four flights Thursday morning all against twenty one mile wind started from level with engine power alone average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform press home Christmas. Orvevelle Wright” An error in transmission cut two seconds off the longest flight time of 59 seconds and Orville’s name was misspelled. The wind speed of 21 mph is confusing. What Orville meant to say is that the wind was at least 21 mph during each of the four flights. The first successful flight was against a 27-mph wind. The Norfolk operator sent a return message asking if he could share the news with a reporter at the “Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.” The Wrights gave an emphatic no! They wanted the first news of the event to be from Dayton. The Norfolk operator, Jim Gray, ignored the negative answer and provided the information to a friend, H. P. Moore, at the paper.

Having little information other than that provided in the telegram, the “Virginian-Pilot” fabricated a fanciful and inaccurate story that was published the next morning with the headline: “Flying Machine Soars 3 Miles in Teeth of High Wind Over Sand Hills and Waves at Kitty Hawk on Carolina Coast.” They also offered the story to the Associated Press (AP) and when they declined the story, offered the story to twenty-one newspapers. Meanwhile Orville’s telegram arrived at 5:25 that evening. The Wrights’ father, Milton Wright, instructed daughter Katharine to walk over to her brother Lorin’s house and ask him to take the telegram to the local newspaper office for publication. Lorin went downtown to the offices of the “Dayton Journal” and spoke to Frank Tunison, local representative of the Associated Press. Tunison was unimpressed with the telegram saying, “If it had been 57 minutes then it might have been a news item.” Two other Dayton papers did publish an account the next day in the afternoon editions. The account in “The Dayton Daily News” gave a reasonably accurate account except that it made a big mistake in indicating that the Wrights were imitators of the world famous Alberto Santos-Dumont.

The headline read “DAYTON BOYS EMULATE GREAT SANTOS-DUMONT.” Santos-Dumont was a Brazilian who pursued aviation in France. In 1901, he had dazzled the French public by rigging an engine to a hot-air balloon and flew around the Eiffel Tower. The Dayton news-editor didn’t recognize the vast difference between balloons and airplanes. The account in “The Dayton Evening Herald” under the heading of “Dayton Boys Fly Airship,” was a 350-word rehash of the fabricated story that had earlier appeared in the “Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.” The AP, the day after the first flight, had sent out an abbreviated version of the Norfolk piece. The story was full of errors.

“The machine flew for three miles — and then gracefully descended to earth at a spot selected by the man in the navigator’s car —.” “Preparatory to flight the machine was placed on a platform on a high sand hill —.” “When the end of the incline was reached the machine gradually arose until it obtained an altitude of sixty feet —.” “There are two six-blade propellers, one arranged just below the frame so as to exert an upward force when in motion and the other extends horizontally to the rear from the center of the car, furnishing the forward impetus.” Orville had run around shouting, “Eureka!” The Wrights, mystified how a short low-keyed message in a telegram could have gone so wrong, prepared a correct story on January 5th of their successful flights and gave it to the AP with a request that it be printed. It appeared in a majority of the AP newspapers the next day. Exactly one month after the historic flight, the New York Herald still had it wrong and published an article showing a picture with two “six-bladed” propellers and an engine beneath the airplane to provide lift. Wilbur and Orville gave no details about their airplane.

It was their invention, developed at their own expense, and they did not yet intend to provide any pictures or detailed descriptions of their Flyer. Two Brothers and a Dream | Library of Congress Two Brothers and a Dream Video Controls for Two Brothers and a Dream Play Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. About this Item Two Brothers and a Dream Contributor Names Motion Pictures Notes - The first powered flight was made by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on December 17, 1903. It was the result of years of experiments and design by the Wright brothers, who were operators of a bicycle repair shop and factory in Dayton, Ohio. The brothers continued their flying experiments in Ohio and in Fort Myer, Va., and were granted a patent for the plane in 1906. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912 and Orville sold his interest in the Wright airplane company in 1915. After Orville's death in 1948, the majority of the Wright brothers papers were given by the estate to the Library of Congress.

Wright Brothers, Photograph of First Flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 10:35 AM, December 17, 1903. One of the most famous photographs of all time, this image was made from one of the five-by-seven- inch glass-plate negatives deposited in the Library of Congress in 1949. The camera had been set on a tripod by Orville, who instructed John T. Daniels of the Kill Devil Hill Lifesaving Station how and when to snap the shutter. Daniels did exactly as he was told and the result captures with clarity and drama the world's first airplane flight at the exact moment of liftoff. Orville is at the controls, lying on the lower wing with his hips in a movable cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. Wilbur, running alongside to steady the machine, has just released his hold on the upright strut of the wing and probably stepped back to get a better view. This first flight lasted only twelve seconds and went 120 feet; it was followed by three more flights that day, each longer than the previous flight.

- Telegram Announcing Success, Orville Wright to Milton Wright, December 17, 1903. Shortly after their history-making flights of December 17, 1903, Orville sent this telegram from Kitty Hawk to his father, Milton, and sister, Katharine, who became the first non-Kitty Hawk residents to learn about their success. Following their eventful and highly successful morning, the Wrights had an unhurried lunch and then walked the few miles to the town of Kitty Hawk to send this historic telegram to their father. The only telegraph equipment in Kitty Hawk was a government wire at the weather bureau office connected to Norfolk, which passed the message on to Western Union. Two errors in transmission were made: Orville's name was misspelled and the time of their longest flight was incorrect (57 seconds instead of the actual 59 seconds). The telegram reached Dayton, Ohio, at 5:25 P.M. and the brothers returned home with their machine on the evening of December 23. Orville Wright's Flight Journal for 1904-05 at Huffman Prairie.

Orville's tiny note, taped to the front of this journal, tells why he considered this item special and distinct from all the other Wright journals, notebooks and diaries that he and Wilbur carried in their pockets over the years. His note reads, "Carried on all flights recorded in it. OW." In addition to all the abbreviated, important flight data it contains, this journal is a singular treasure and a unique historical artifact because it went with Orville and Wilbur on each and every one of the Huffman Prairie flights noted in it, from 1904 to 1905. During those years, the Wright's new flyer was sturdier, heavier and had an entirely new engine, and was on its way to becoming a truly practical aircraft. - Presented in Partnership with HISTORY Repository african and middle eastern division Online Format Wilbur and Orville Wright's First Flight Telegram sent by the Wright Brothers to their father on December 17, 1903 Wilbur and Orville Wright's First Flight December 17, 1903 Orville piloted the first flight, which lasted just 12 seconds. On the fourth and final flight of the day, Wilbur flew for 59 seconds.

Both brothers survived that morning, December 17, 1903. That day they became the first people to demonstrate sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine under the complete control of the pilot. What did the brothers do after their exciting success? Orville and Wilbur Wright walked four miles to Kitty Hawk and sent a telegram to their father: "Success four flights Thursday morning all against twenty one mile wind started from level with engine power alone average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform Press home Christmas." The world was about to change forever. page 2 of 3 December 17, 1903 December 17, 1903 If this is your first visit, please stop by: Available in Franï¿½aise, Espaï¿½ol, Portuguï¿½s, Deutsch, Россию, 中文, 日本, and others. istorians who study the Wright Brothers are often amazed and chagrined that they are best remembered for the one day when they stepped out of character and made the most risky gamble of their careers.

For four short flights -- after the last of which they wrecked their airplane and nearly killed a man -- these prudent, sober, intelligent men literally threw their considerable caution to the wind. On the evening of December 16, there was an ominous black line of clouds on the horizon. This front advanced quickly and the bane of the east coast, a noreaster, laid siege to the Wright brothers camp at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The rain abated by morning, leaving puddles of ice between the sand dunes. The wind, however, continued to blow in from the ocean, gusting to a fierce 30 miles an hour and creating a chill factor of 4 degrees. Lying fully exposed on the lower wing of their biplane, Wilbur and Orville must have known the wind would toss them like a feather and cut them like knives. The Wright brothers made a simple breakfast, cleaned up, then studied the skies for a good long while. You can almost hear the conversation: "What do you think, Will?" "Its blowing awfully hard, Orv." "Maybe it will die down by this afternoon. Or tomorrow morning." "Theres no guarantee the weather will get any better.

Fact is, the longer we stay at Kitty Hawk, the worse it will get." "And if we dont leave soon, we wont get back to Dayton for Christmas." And there you have it. The Wright brothers had the first recorded case of get-home-itis, a potentially fatal malady that afflicts every pilot who ever flew. Get-home-itis is a broken gear in your head that engages whenever you really want to go somewhere. It kicks into overdrive when the weather or the aircraft presents a challenge to your piloting skills. Hundreds of thousands of light-plane pilots have flown to an early grave because they couldnt disengage and do the smart thing: Stay on the ground. But the Wrights ignored this sober course for the same reason they ignored the icy, gusting winds of the noreaster. They wanted to get home for Christmas. A little past ten in the morning, they took a gamble and nailed a red blanket to the side of their hangar, a pre-arranged signal to tell the Kitty Hawk Life Saving Crew that they needed help getting the aircraft ready to fly. While the Wrights waited, they began laying out the wooden track about 200 feet from the hanger.

Now occurs the first miracle of the day, and the one that is most often overlooked. Five men -- John Daniels, Adam Etheridge, Will Dough, W.C. Brinkley and Johnny Moore -- left a cozy station and a warm fire to go to work in the icy, biting wind and help two eccentric Yankees drag a 600-pound contraption across the frozen sand. If you don't think this is a miracle, the next time you're at Kitty Hawk on a cold winter's day, call the Coast Guard and tell them you need help moving your perpetual motion machine out to the beach. It's a safe bet they'll make excuses. Nonetheless, Daniels, Etheridge, Dough, Brinkley, and Moore did not make excuses, and the world is indebted to them for it. There ought to be a monument to them somewhere in Kitty Hawk to remind us that there is no such thing as an unimportant act of kindness. By 10:30 AM, the Wrights and their crew had the Flyer positioned on its launching rail. Wilbur and Orville pulled the propellers, and the engine coughed and sputtered as it awoke.

While the motor was warming up, the brothers stepped aside for a moment by themselves. "We couldn't help notice how they held on to each other's hands, sort of like two folks parting who weren't sure they'd ever see one another again," said one of the life saving crew. It was Orville's turn to fly, and he took his position on the Flyer. He instinctively did what every good pilot since has done just before take-off -- he checked his controls, moving the elevator, warping the wings, and turning the rudder. While Orville was doing this, Wilbur enlisted Daniels to snap a photo just as the Flyer reached the end of the rail. He also requested for the crew "not to look too sad, but to...laugh and holler and clap...to try to cheer Orville up when he started." The air was heavy with history, and Wilbur was trying to lighten the somber mood. About 10:35, Orville loosed the restraining wire, and the machine began to move down the rail into a bitter wind that was now gusting to 27 miles per hour. Wilbur ran along side.

Two thirds of the way down the rail, the Flyer lifted into the air and the crew cheered. Like Wilbur three days before, Orville underestimated the effectiveness of the elevator, and the machine rose quickly. Just as quickly, Orville threw the elevator down and the machine dived. Up again, down again for a breathtaking 12 seconds, and the Flyer landed -- pilot and airplane intact except for one cracked skid -- 120 feet from the end of the rail. For the first time ever, a flying machine had taken off from level ground, traveled through the air, and landed under the control of its pilot. It was a wavering, unsteady control to be sure, but it was control just the same. Orville and Wilbur were elated -- but not satisfied. About 11:20 AM they made a second flight with Wilbur at the controls, this time covering 175 feet. Twenty minutes later, Orville flew for a third time and landing 200 feet from the starting point. Finally at 12:00 noon, Wilbur took off for a fourth time. The beginning of the flight was about like the first three.

The Flyer pitched a fit as the pilot fought to control the elevator. 100 feet out and the aircraft was bucking up and down like a rodeo bull. At 200 feet, it was worse. But after about 300 feet, Wilbur finally got a feel for the elevator and the Flyer's path began to smooth out. He had passed the 800 foot mark when a gust of wind caught him and the airplane began its wild gyrations again. Wilbur fought it for a few seconds, trying to regain control, when the Flyer "suddenly darted for the ground," as Orville later described it. It landed 852 feet and 59 seconds from its starting point, snapping the elevator support but otherwise unharmed. Wilbur and Orville were satisfied. The Flyer flew. While carrying the airplane back to the launching point, the men discussed the possibility of repairing the elevator and making a long flight -- maybe all the way to Kitty Hawk, four miles away. Just as they put the machine down to take a rest, a sudden gust of wind picked up one wing.

Daniels jumped to grab a strut and was caught in the bracing wires as the machine rolled over and over again. When it came to rest, it was nothing but kindling wood and torn cloth. But the day was rife with miracles, and Daniels escaped without a scratch. The Wright Flyer was not so fortunate. The world's first true airplane would never fly again. It was yet another miracle that it had even flown at all. Much later, aeronautical engineers would analyze its flight characteristics and discover that the overly sensitive elevator made it nearly uncontrollable. A computer simulation by Fred Hooven showed that a pilot needed the reflexes of a professional athlete to keep the Flyer in the air. By all accounts, the Wright brothers were superb pilots, but with less than a minute at the controls of a strange new machine, could they have been that good? Charles Lindbergh, who flew the Atlantic in 1927, gives another explanation in his Autobiography of Values. "There are elements in man that escape rational description, that lie beyond the measurements of science. They may exist at distance beyond the body, yet still exert an influence within. " Those first few flights were where physics and faith, engineering and poetry all came together.

It was the Wright brothers' time and they rose to the occasion. Johnny Moore cried the news to the folks of Kitty Hawk, running to the village shouting, "They done it! They done it! Damned if they ain't flew." The Wrights themselves were more sedate and in better possession of their grammar. They ate a quiet lunch, then walked to the Kitty Hawk Weather Bureau to send a telegram home to Dayton. "SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS. OREVELLE WRIGHT" Bishop Milton Wright received the telegram at 7 Hawthorne Street about 5:30 PM, and showed it o Katharine a few minutes later. Supper was delayed while the telegram was sent over to Lorin's home and the news was telegraphed to Octave Chanute. Orville's high school chum , Paul Laurence Dunbar, had by this time come back to Dayton. The celebrated poet was resting and trying to beat the tuberculosis that was consuming him.

Several unconfirmed accounts record that Paul stopped by 7 Hawthorne Street not long after the telegram arrived and the Bishop showed it to him. Dunbar's visit is probably apocryphal. However, it seems fitting that among the first people to learn of the flights there would be a minister and a poet, for that was exactly what mankind needed at that moment. Looking back, we now know that the airplane was more than an invention, and those first flights more than a get-home gamble. They were a metaphysical coup-de-tat, a revolution in thought so vast that we are still sorting out the pieces a century later. Prior to December 17, 1903, the view that most folks had of their world was two-dimensional, neatly organized and partitioned like an overgrown checkerboard. Our great grandsires traveled from fence to fence and boundary to boundary, always knowing where they were. After that day in 1903, our lives became increasingly three-dimensional, the landscape vast and interconnected. The comfortable divisions by which we made sense of our world vanished like a mirage, as did the old landmarks by which we steered our course.

Wouldn't you give your eye teeth to know what sermon Bishop Milton Wright preached on the next Sunday, or what poem Paul Laurence Dunbar penned after he had learned of his friends' success? They must have sensed that the world was about to be turned on its ear. What balm did they offer to deal with the wonder and terror of seeing the world from a height once reserved for angels? Did they have sage words to replace the ancient wisdom that had been swept away in the Flyers propeller wash? Or did they simply speculate on the wisdom and whimsy of a Deity who neglected to give us wings yet obviously intended for man to fly? Click on a photo to enlarge it. A view of the 1903 Wright camp from Kill Devil Hill. Wilbur getting the Flyer ready for flight. The Lifesaving Squad at Kitty Hawk. Orville checks over the Flyer before takeoff. The photo that John Daniels took at the beginning of the first flight. This is the complete print -- the chip on the lower left corner is often cropped out. A gust of wind caught the left wing of the Flyer just as the third flight began. Orville was able to level the plane and continue the flight.

The Flyer almost 800 feet out from the launching rail, just before the end of the fourth flight. The front elevator frame was broken on landing at the end of the fourth flight. The telegram that the Wright brothers sent to their father, Bishop Milton Wright, to inform them of their success. In Their Own Words First Flight - Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress First Flight Photograph of First Flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 10:35 AM, December 17, 1903 One of the most famous photographs of all time, this image was made from one of the five-by-seven- inch glass-plate negatives deposited in the Library of Congress in 1949. The camera had been set on a tripod by Orville, who instructed John T. Daniels of the Kill Devil Hill Lifesaving Station how and when to snap the shutter. Daniels did exactly as he was told and the result captures with clarity and drama the world's first airplane flight at the exact moment of liftoff.

Orville is at the controls, lying on the lower wing with his hips in a movable cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. Wilbur, running alongside to steady the machine, has just released his hold on the upright strut of the wing and probably stepped back to get a better view. This first flight lasted only twelve seconds and went 120 feet; it was followed by three more flights that day, each longer than the previous flight. Entry from Diary of Orville Wright, December 17, 1903 In about six pages of his small pocket diary, Orville set down the details of all four flights that the brothers made that day. Rather than reveling in their making history and achieving a dream of mankind, Orville instead provides a matter-of-fact account packed with what he considered the necessary and important details. Thus his retelling of that day's events contains not a hint of emotion nor hardly anything subjective, but concentrates on setting the record straight and getting all the facts down. The only suggestion of drama in Orville's telling is his description of how the wind-tossed machine nearly killed John T. Daniels, who had become tangled in its engine and chains.

Telegram, Orville Wright to Milton Wright, December 17, 1903 Following their eventful and highly successful morning, the Wrights had an unhurried lunch and then walked the few miles to the town of Kitty Hawk to send a telegram to their father. With their machine wrecked by the wind and flying done for the season, the Wrights immediately thought of going home for Christmas. The only telegraph equipment in Kitty Hawk was a government wire at the weather bureau office connected to Norfolk, which passed the message on to Western Union. The telegraph operator at Kitty Hawk was John T. Dosher, with whom the Wrights had corresponded more than three years before. Two errors in transmission were made: Orville's name was misspelled and the time of their longest flight was incorrect (fifty-seven instead of fifty-nine seconds). The telegram reached Dayton, Ohio, at 5:25 P.M. and the brothers returned home with their broken machine on the evening of December 23. Telegram, diary excerpt, and sketch of first flying machine, 1903. (Book, 1903) [WorldCat.org] Find more libraries Librarian?

Claim your library to Telegram, diary excerpt, and sketch of first flying machine, 1903. Author: WorldCat Summary: The booklet contains facsimiles made by the National Geographic Society of the telegram Orville Wright sent to his father announcing four successful flights at Kitty Hawk, N.C. on 17 December 1903; seven excerpt pages from his diary, 17 December 1903, describing the flight; and Wilbur Wright's sketch of the first flying machine. Rating: You are connected to the University of Washington Libraries network Hide local services for this item OCLC FirstSearch Add library to Favorites Please choose whether or not you want other users to be able to see on your profile that this library is a favorite of yours. Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item... Details In the Rare Books Room, University Libraries, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. (#1968-0008R/Aerospace Collection). Reproduction Notes: 3 p.

Abstract: The booklet contains facsimiles made by the National Geographic Society of the telegram Orville Wright sent to his father announcing four successful flights at Kitty Hawk, N.C. on 17 December 1903; seven excerpt pages from his diary, 17 December 1903, describing the flight; and Wilbur Wright's sketch of the first flying machine. Reviews Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first. Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first. Tags Add tags for "Telegram, diary excerpt, and sketch of first flying machine, 1903.". Be the first. Similar Items

Question: Who sent a telegram from Kitty Hawk in 1903?
Answer: Orville Wright