For over two thousand years, humanity dreamed of soaring through the sky, just like birds. We've always been fascinated by the idea of flying. But it wasn't until the early 20th century that our dream truly began to take flight.

In 1903, two American inventors, Orville and Wilbur Wright, built the first powered aircraft with an internal combustion engine, and it flew successfully in North Carolina.

This marked the first time in human history that a powered, controllable flight was achieved. But the Wright brothers didn't just invent the airplane—they solved the three major problems that had stumped others for centuries: the need for flight power, stability, and lift.

Building on Previous Knowledge

Before the Wright brothers succeeded, many others had tried to solve the puzzle of flight. In the 19th century, a German named Lilienthal studied bird flight patterns and used storks as his design model for gliders. He spent over 20 years experimenting and gathering invaluable knowledge about lift and drag. He even wrote a book titled Bird Flight as the Foundation of Flight Art, which became a cornerstone of aviation literature. Thanks to his work, Lilienthal, like Leonardo da Vinci, is considered one of the pioneers who learned from nature to shape the future of aerodynamics.

The Wright Brothers' Breakthrough

By the turn of the 20th century, the Wright brothers had become intrigued by Lilienthal's research. They closed their bicycle shop and dedicated themselves to understanding and improving flight theories. Upon discovering errors in Lilienthal's lift calculations, they began their own experiments. Using simple tools, they tested different wing designs and harnessed the knowledge they had gained from building bicycles to create steady airflow. After testing over 200 different wing designs at various angles, the Wright brothers gathered reliable data on lift, which would later form the foundation of modern aerodynamics. They then installed an engine on a glider and created the first true powered aircraft.

First Successful Flight

On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright took off in the world's first controlled, powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The plane flew for just 12 seconds, but this was enough to prove the feasibility of powered flight. The brothers conducted two more flights that day, with the longest lasting nearly a minute and covering over 260 meters. They didn't stop there—after their initial success, they continued to refine their design, eventually creating a plane capable of staying in the air for extended periods. The Wright brothers' greatest achievement was developing the ability to control a plane mid-flight, a technique that is still used today with only minor adjustments. These control movements allowed for pitch, roll, and yaw—basic principles still used in aviation today.

Revolutionizing the World

Once airplanes became a reality, the aviation industry grew rapidly. What began as a curious experiment became a tool that would change the world forever. Today, airplanes are not just a means of transportation; they play crucial roles in defense, science, and everyday life. They've allowed us to travel faster and farther than we ever imagined. And as technology advances, airplanes keep getting bigger and faster. Soon, we will have passenger aircraft that can carry 500 to 600 people—or even 800 to 1000—at a takeoff weight of over 500 tons. And that's not all; we're working on supersonic planes that can fly at speeds greater than two and a half times the speed of sound. These planes will allow us to fly from New York to Paris in under five hours. The future of aviation is even more exciting. Scientists are developing spaceplanes that will allow us to launch people and cargo into space, opening up a new frontier for humanity in the cosmos.

The Sky Is No Longer the Limit

Looking back at the Wright brothers' journey, we see just how far we've come in such a short amount of time. From a 12-second flight to exploring the possibility of traveling to space, the dream of flying has transformed not just our world but the future of human exploration. We're on the brink of new discoveries that will take us beyond Earth itself. The sky is no longer the limit—it's just the beginning. So, Lykkers, let's keep dreaming and pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve, just as the Wright brothers did over a century ago.