122 years ago today, on December 17, 1903 (October 29, 1903 lunar calendar), the Wright brothers' first airplane was successfully tested. 1903 Man took to the sky On December 17, 1903, the first airplane built by the Wright brothers, "Pilot 1", was successfully tested in North Carolina, USA. They successfully flew a heavier-than-air aircraft of their own design and construction. People are skeptical about this. Earlier this year, Simon Newcomb, a respected American scientist, issued an opinion proving that flying by maneuvering power is impossible. Seven years ago, Otto Lilienthal, a famous German aviation pioneer, crashed and died in his own aircraft. However, the Wright brothers said they flew four times over Kitty Hawk Beach in North Carolina that day, the longest lasting about a minute and flying 850 feet. Five other people were present to witness their flight. The Wright brothers said they solved the problem of preventing heavier-than-air aircraft from flying at a bicycle repair shop in Dayton. One of their key inventions, they said, was the use of movable wingtips to control planes, a problem no one had ever solved. They also made a 25-horsepower lightweight engine, which is lighter than any before but provides more power than before. The brothers then tested a series of scale models they designed and built themselves in a wind tunnel. The work took more than seven years and cost more than $1,000, they said. In any case, they said, they would not be able to publish a detailed description of their flying machine until they had obtained the patent rights. Orver and Webb Wright, two brothers who had been dealing in bicycles and were very skilled in mechanical construction, were one of many aviation enthusiasts at the time. They began studying flight in 1896 and aspired to build an aircraft powered by engines. Unlike other flight design enthusiasts, they took theory seriously and read the relevant literature on aerodynamics. They also stubbornly learned German to read Litar's works. After years of trial and error, the Wright brothers finally built the first aircraft, the Flyer 1. At 30 a.m. on December 17, 1903, Ofer piloted the aircraft in a successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk Beach in North Carolina, flying a distance of 36 meters and staying in the air for 12 seconds; then, his brother Weber made a flight, resulting in a flight of 3,200 meters in 59 seconds. Thus was born the first aircraft. The Wright brothers continued to improve the aircraft, building "Flyer 2" and "Flyer 3" in 1904 and 1905 respectively. On October 5, 1905, Weber piloted the Flyer 3 for 38 minutes and a range of 39 kilometers. That is to say, "Flyer 3" has actually become practical. The Wright brothers were convinced that the age of flying machines had arrived. In the years that followed, they improved the performance of aircraft and performed flying shows around the world to show people that the dream of human flight had come true. 1903 Man takes to the skies O-Wright W-Wright "The desire to fly has been passed down to our generation from our ancestors," said Orville Wright, who is regarded as the first person to successfully control powered flight.