The 1909 Wright Military Flyer is the world’s first military airplane. In 1908, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sought competitive bids for a two-seat observation aircraft. Winning designs had to meet several specified performance standards. Flight trials with the Wrights’ entry began at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 3, 1908. After several days of successful flights, a tragedy occurred on September 17, when Orville Wright crashed with Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, the Army’s observer, as his passenger. Orville survived with severe injuries, but Selfridge was killed, becoming the first fatality in a powered airplane.
On June 3, 1909, the Wrights returned to Fort Myer with a new airplane to complete the trials that began in 1908. Satisfying all requirements, the Army purchased the airplane for $30,000 and conducted flight training with it at nearby College Park, Maryland, and Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas, in 1910. It was given to the Smithsonian in 1911.
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