AFA Remembers Wright Brothers

On this day in history (December 17, 1903), Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful, piloted flight in history, flying 20 feet above a beach in N.C. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Today, AFA remembers the significance of the Wright Brothers and their grand contribution to modern aviation.

To honor the 107th anniversary of this historic event and the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Air Force will celebrate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where Stephen Wright, great-grandnephew of the Wright brothers and Col. Amanda Gladney, 88th Air Base Wing Commander, will lay a wreath at the Wright Brothers Memorial.

An official will also read a proclamation on the significance of that first flight in 1903 - and how "two young men from Dayton, Ohio, changed the world with their invention of the airplane."

KITTY HAWK, N.C. -- The Wright Brothers the first flight by man with a motor driven, heavier-than-air machine.
(Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)