FlyZolo Team Update - Day 12
After a diversion to Princeton due to weather, Zara is back in the air and making her way, as we speak, to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (you can follow her progress live on: https://flyzolo.com/route/) At Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers "Taught the World to Fly". Humans have dreamed of flying for millennia. From the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, to kite flying in China, to the development of hydrogen-filled balloons in 18th century France, to early experiments with gliders in 19th century in England and Germany.
The honour of the first (sustained and controlled flight of a powered heavier-than-air aircraft) went to two bicycle shop owners from Dayton, Ohio: Orville and Wilbur Wright. The brothers combined the mechanical experience from their business with the fundamental breakthrough invention of three-axis control to enable them to steer the aircraft and maintain its equilibrium.
After several unsuccessful attempts, on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright completed the first powered flight known as the Wright Flyer. The flight lasted just 12 seconds, traveled 120 feet, and reached a top speed of 6.8 miles per hour. An amazing feat for its day, one of the five people to witness this historic first flight snapped a photograph of the event. The brothers completed three other flights that day, taking turns piloting, the longest traveling 852 feet in 59 seconds. The highest altitude reached in any of the flights was about 10 feet.
Zara is hoping to pay a visit to the Kitty Hawk Memorial in celebration of what they accomplished.
