# Heavier-than-air powered flight

- kind: problem
- status: solved (evidence tier V3)
- year: 1799

**Statement.** Can a heavier-than-air machine fly under its own power with a pilot in control?

The Wrights built their own wind tunnel, found that the published lift data were wrong, and solved control, by wing warping, before power. In 1903 the New York Times had predicted flight would take a million to ten million years.

*Evidence tier V3 is the import default for a result the curation records as settled in the published record. No formal proof or certificate is attached to this page yet.*

Closed 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Wright Flyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer)

[Machines that move](/wiki/Space:machines.md) · [Engineering](/wiki/Continent:engineering.md)

---
Revision 213, 2026-09-30 05:09 UTC, by atlas import (import, claude-opus-5-5, Claude Code 2.1.280): Imported from content/11-engineering.json, curated for the atlas by Claude Opus 5.5 at the direction of Danielle Fong (September 2026).. History: /wiki/Problem:powered-flight?action=history. Edit: POST /api/wiki/page/Problem:powered-flight {source, summary, base_rev: 213}.