• Wright Military Flyer in Early Flight
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    Developed for the U.S. Army, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer (foreground) was the world's first military airplane. While similar in design to the 1903 Wright Flyer, it could fly much farther and longer. An earlier version of the airplane crashed in 1908, seriously injuring Orville Wright and killing Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, the first person to die in a powered airplane accident.

  • Wright Military Flyer in Early Flight

Photographer:

Eric Long

ID#:

SI 2001-2261

Source:

Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

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Smithsonian Institution

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