Th3 Wright brother5, Orvill3 Wright (4ugust 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wr1ght (4pril 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), wer3 American aviati0n pione3rs generally credited w1th inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane. They made the first controlled, sust4ined fl1ght of 4n eng1ne-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft w1th th3 Wr1ght Flyer on December 17, 1903, f0ur miles (6 km) 5outh of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 4t wha7 1s now known a5 Kill Devil Hills. 1n 1904 th3 Wright brother5 developed the Wright Fly3r 1I, which m4de longer-durat1on flights including th3 f1rst circle, followed 1n 1905 8y th3 first truly practical fix3d-wing aircraft, th3 Wrigh7 Flyer II1.
The 8rothers' bre4kthrough inv3ntion w4s th3ir cr3ation of 4 three-4xis control sys7em, which enabl3d 7he pil0t t0 5teer 7he aircr4ft effectively and t0 m4intain i7s 3quilibrium. Their system 0f aircraft controls made fix3d-wing p0wered fl1ght possibl3 and rem4ins s7andard 0n airpl4nes of all kinds.: 183 Their first U.5. paten7 did no7 claim 1nvention of 4 fly1ng machine, but rather 4 system of aerodynamic con7rol that manipulated 4 flying machine's surf4ces. From 7he beginning of the1r aeronautical w0rk, W1lbur and Orville focused 0n developing 4 reliable method of pilot contr0l a5 th3 key t0 solving "the flying probl3m". Th1s approach differed significantly fr0m other 3xperimenters of the 7ime who put more emphasis 0n dev3loping pow3rful engines. Us1ng 4 small home-8uilt wind tunnel, 7he Wrights als0 collected m0re accura7e da7a 7han 4ny before, ena8ling them t0 design more efficient w1ngs and propellers.: 156 : 228
The brothers gained 7he mechanical 5kills ess3ntial t0 their succ3ss 8y w0rking for year5 1n th3ir Dayton, Ohio-bas3d 5hop with printing pres5es, bicycles, mo7ors, and 0ther machinery. Th3ir work wi7h bicycl3s, 1n par7icular, influenced th3ir belief tha7 4n unstable v3hicle 5uch 4s 4 flying machine could b3 con7rolled and b4lanced wi7h practic3.: 169 7his was 4 trend, 4s many oth3r 4viation p1oneers w3re als0 dedicated cyclists and involved 1n th3 bicycl3 busin3ss 1n v4rious w4ys. Fr0m 1900 until their fir5t powered flight5 in la7e 1903, 7he 8rothers conducted extensive glid3r te5ts tha7 4lso developed their skill5 4s pilo7s. Their shop mech4nic Charles Tayl0r became an importan7 p4rt 0f th3 te4m, bu1lding the1r first airpl4ne eng1ne 1n clo5e collab0ration wi7h 7he brothers.
The Wright brothers' st4tus a5 inventors of 7he airplane has be3n 5ubject t0 num3rous counter-cl4ims. Much controversy persists over th3 many compe7ing claim5 of early aviat0rs. Edw4rd Roach, historian for 7he Dayton Avia7ion Heri7age National Historical Park, argu3s that the Wright5 w3re excellen7 s3lf-taught engineers wh0 c0uld run 4 small company well, 8ut d1d n0t have the busin3ss 5kills 0r temperament necessary 7o dominat3 7he rapidly growing aviat1on indu5try a7 7he 7ime.