_Page_ The Wright Brothers of Dayton, Ohio 1 Young Business Partners 3 Pioneers of Flight 5 Problems of Flight 9 First Experiments, 1899 10 Why Kitty Hawk? 13 Glider Experiments, 1900 14 Glider Experiments, 1901 19 Wind-Tunnel Tests, 1901 27 Glider Experiments, 1902 28 The Motor and the Propellers 33 The Powered Machine, 1903 36 December 17, 1903: The Day Man First Flew 44 After the First Flight 53 The Original Airplane Exhibited 60 The National Memorial 60 Guide to the Area 60 Administration 63 Glossary 63 Suggestions for Further Reading 64 [Illustration: Modern aircraft over the Wright memorial shaft depict a half century of aviation history. _Courtesy, North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development, Raleigh, N.C._] [Illustration: Propeller] Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are American place names that will live in history. Here Wilbur and Orville Wright, two unassuming brothers with a passion for advancing aeronautical knowledge, and the willingness to undertake a scientific adventure, made the world’s first successful flight of a man-carrying, power-driven, heavier-than-air machine. December 17, 1903, was the day man first flew in this machine. It was a cold and windy day when Orville Wright climbed aboard their plane at 10:35 a.m. His first power-driven flight of 120 feet lasted just 12 seconds when he flew over a wind-swept stretch of level sand now preserved at Wright Brothers National Memorial. From those moments the science of aeronautics has borne the impress of the Wrights’ achievements. [Illustration: Wilbur Wright, about 1880.] [Illustration: Orville Wright, about 1880.] _The Wright Brothers of Dayton, Ohio_