December 17

What happened on December 17 in aviation and space history.

• December 17, 1903

  Wright brothers’ first flight

  First flight — On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright covered 120 feet in 12 seconds aboard the Flyer: the first controlled, sustained, powered flight in history.

• December 17, 1993

  Delivery of the first Northrop B-2 Spirit to Whiteman

  Milestone — The first production B-2A Spirit, «Spirit of Missouri» (tail number 88-0329), landed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, on 17 December 1993, marking the start of the bomber's first operational unit within Strategic Air Command.

• December 17, 2004

  First flight of the Antonov An-148

  First flight — The Antonov An-148 flew for the first time on 2004-12-17.