Wilbur Wright Flies for 38 Minutes

On October 5, 1905, Wilbur Wright flew the brothers' Flyer III for about thirty-eight minutes near Dayton, Ohio, circling the field at Huffman Prairie and covering roughly twenty-four miles. It was by far the longest and most controlled flight yet made, demonstrating that the Wrights had moved well beyond the brief hops of their first powered flight in 1903.

The Flyer III was a refined and far more capable machine than its predecessors. Improvements to the controls, including a more effective system for coordinating turns, and a larger forward elevator gave the aircraft greater stability and made sustained, maneuverable flight possible for the first time.

This flight is often regarded as the moment the airplane became a genuinely practical machine rather than an experimental curiosity. Able to bank, turn, and remain aloft until its fuel ran low, the Flyer III proved that controlled, sustained, and repeatable flight had been achieved, laying the foundation for all the aviation that followed.