The original Wright Brothers' aeroplane. The world's first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine, in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight, invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright, flown by them at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. By original scientific research, the Wright Brothers discovered the principles of human flight. As inventors, builders, and flyers they further developed the aeroplane, taught man to fly, and opened the era of aviation.

– Inscription on the 1903 flyer at the Smithsonian Institution

On December 17, 1903 – exactly 100 years ago in the annals of history, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright flew for the first time. With Orville at the controls, they stayed in the air for just 12 seconds, and travelled a mere 37 metres. But the beginning had been made. They had imagined the future and literally flew across its horizon!

After that, the same day, Wilbur made the second flight, Orville the third. Wilbur's more famous fourth flight in the same aircraft, 260 metres in 59 seconds, was an achievement to celebrate.

It was a remarkable feat for two small self-made engineers, working in a bicycle shop, to invent a technology that would define the 20th century. They shared a dream of flying like the birds, and when they finally realised this dream, they made the world a forever smaller place.

For this mission, the Wright Brothers chose Kitty Hawk, a small fishing village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, because it suited their need for a place with a steady wind, soft sand and very few obstacles. It was here that the Wright Brothers worked together on the problems of flight that had eluded so many before them.

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio and his older brother, Wilbur Wright, was born on April 16, 1867 in a farm near Millville, Indiana.

The Wright Brothers' first tryst with flying occurred in 1878, when their father gave them a small rubber band-powered toy helicopter, made of cork and bamboo. The brothers were intrigued with the toy, and made several copies of its design in various sizes. They played and experimented with the flying machine and like all boys moved away to other toys after some time. But the memory of the way its flight stayed forever with them.

In 1888, Orville left high school to start a printing business. Wilbur and Orville later sold their printing business and opened a bicycle shop to sell and repair bicycles. Both the brothers were talented mechanics, who could make or repair anything. The money they received from the bicycle shop supported them during their early years of aeronautical experiments.

About four years before they made history at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers built their first miniature flying machine – a pilotless "kite" with a five feet wingspan – made of wood, wire and cloth. Based on this experiment, Wilbur became convinced that he could build an aircraft that would be "capable of sustaining a man". This conviction egged the brothers on to build a full-sized flying machine.

In the year 1900, the brothers built their very first glider, which used the technique of wing warping. One person could pilot this glider, who was supposed to lie face down while holding two ropes that controlled the wings. They test flew it at Kitty Hawk. These rides only lasted a short time and the longest was only 10 seconds.

Two years later, in 1902, the brothers had a new design that had rudder control. With wing warping and proper rudder movement, they could get a more stable flight. This time, the flight soared more than 600 feet.

The Wright Brothers now dreamed of having an engine-powered flying machine controlled by a pilot. They worked day and night and built their first engine-powered airplane.

After conducting many experiments, the brothers built their own engines, which weighed just 150 pounds. They designed their own propeller, with a curved top and a flat bottom. Although many top-of- the-line scientists ridiculed the design, the brothers persisted with their research.

The result was an engine-powered flying machine that they called 'Flyer 1'. At 10.30 a m on December 17, 1903, the brothers shook hands as the plane rumbled to life, and history was made.

Ten years after the first flight, Orville Wright is reported to have admitted, "I look with amazement upon our audacity in attempting flights with a new and untried machine."

The shaky 12-seconds flight that the Wright Brothers undertook, forever changed the course of the future. It defined the way in which we do commerce, to the way in which we fight our wars. It took the world where nobody had ever before dreamed of going. It opened up a whole new world, which brought people, cultures, languages and economies together. The brothers set travellers on a path that would eventually lead humans to outer space. What looked like an impossible fantasy a century ago has now become a reality.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of this historic and groundbreaking achievement, which has been described as "the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing".

This is a tribute to Wilbur and Orville Wright, who brought about the birth of the Aviation Age and, in the process, a new chapter in modern world history.