Remembering the Day of First Flights

The Wright brothers and the Douglas DC-3 both marked aviation milestones on this date in 1903 and 1935.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 02:49 PM ET

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The Wright brothers’ success on December 17, 1903, marked the beginning of powered, controlled, heavier-than-air flight. [John T. Daniels/Library of Congress]

Key Takeaways:

The article highlights two significant aviation milestones on December 17th: the Wright brothers' first powered flight in 1903 and the Douglas DC-3's maiden flight in 1935.
The Douglas DC-3 revolutionized early air travel, offering luxurious and spacious cabins and the ability to operate from shorter, often unpaved, runways.
Known for its versatility and durability, the DC-3 served extensively as a military transport (C-47 Skytrain/Dakota) and continues to be in service around the world today.
The article emphasizes the remarkable technological leap in aviation, with only 32 years separating the rudimentary Wright Flyer from the sophisticated, globe-spanning capabilities of the DC-3.

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Where were you when you learned about the “12 seconds that changed the world in 1903,” when Orville and Wilbur Wright, a pair of bicycle mechanics from Ohio, achieved powered flight for the first time?

For me it was in the third grade. We had a daily assignment where the teacher would write a cryptic topic sentence on the board, and then we had to research it and write a paragraph.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.