Photograph of the first powered flight, made by Orville Wright on 17 December 1903 near Kill Devil Hill, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Wright can be seen lying on the lower wing of the 12 horse- power, chain-driven Flyer I. The photo was taken as the aircraft left the ground at the end of the take-off rail visible at left. The flight lasted for about 12 seconds, covering a distance of 36.5 metres (120 feet) at an airspeed of 48 kilometres/ hour (30 miles/hour), a groundspeed of 10.9 kilometres/hour (6.8 miles/hour) and an altitude of 2.5-3.5 metres (8-12 feet).