July 27, 1909

July 27, 1909
Orville Wright, with Army Lt. Frank P. Lahm as passenger, flies the 1909 Military Flyer from Ft. Myer, Va., for one hour, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds and covers 40 miles. This first official test flight meets the Army’s endurance requirement as stated in Signal Corps Specification 486, which is the order for the first military airplane.

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