First powered airplane on public display (Wright Flyer)

The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., houses the 1903 Wright Flyer, the aircraft built and flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright that achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville Wright donated the original 1903 Flyer to the Smithsonian in 1948. The Flyer is part of the museum’s permanent collection and has been displayed to the public on the National Mall since its acquisition.