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The Dec 17 flights noted as successful were 120, 175, 200, and 852 feet in 1903 I don't see any other attempts noted. Some of their earlier flights were probabl
by rtkwe 4y ago
The Dec 17 flights noted as successful were 120, 175, 200, and 852 feet in 1903 I don't see any other attempts noted. Some of their earlier flights were probably shorter but didn't really get off the ground successfully enough to really be called flights or even really get noted most places. The rest from 1903 seem to have been gliding attempts that wouldn't fit the records here.
- WalterBright 4y agoI believe those were distances flown, not the takeoff distance. If you look at the photo of the first flight, it hasn't gone very far.
- rtkwe 4y agoThose are the distances flown. Their take off rail was 60 feet total not sure if they noted their take off distance at the time, it's not mentioned in the accounts I've read but they're not super in depth.
- WalterBright 4y agohttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Wright_First_Flight_1903Dec17_%28full_restore_115%29.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Wright_F... They're well aloft before the end of that rail, in my most favorite photo of history.
- rtkwe 4y agoKitty Hawk was chosen because the strong consistent winds so definitely helped. I don't know about 20 feet though.
- WalterBright 4y agoEven airplanes today always try to take off into the wind :-) An aircraft carrier will steam full blast into the wind when launching airplanes. The Wright Flyer surely landed in less than 20 feet, too, as it just had a skid.