1903 Wright Flyer - original powered airplane

The 1903 Wright Flyer, the aircraft flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright in the first controlled, sustained powered flight on December 17, 1903, is the original artifact on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The Flyer is preserved and exhibited as a single historic object representing the birth of powered aviation. It has been conserved and interpreted by the museum as one of its signature artifacts documenting early flight. The aircraft remains a uniquely singular piece of aerospace history in the museum's collection.