The Wright brothers used their bicycle factory in Dayton Ohio to fund their research into powered human flight. They built the first wind tunnel in history to do research on the best shape for their propeller. Since different sections of the propeller would be traveling at different speeds, depending on how far from the center it was, then each point needed a different shape to create the most lift at that speed. So they made the first propeller in which the shape constantly changed along its entire length. Using a gasoline motor of their own construction, they achieved powered flight on December 17, 1903, having flown 852 feet in 59 seconds.
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