The world’s first power-driven heavier-than-air machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight Invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright Flown by them at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina December 17, 1903 By original scientific research the Wright brothers discovered the principles of human flight As inventors, builders, and flyers they further developed the aeroplane, taught man to fly, and opened the era of aviation.