Inspired by Otto Lilienthal's gliding, they perfected their piloted glider 1902. In 1903 they built a powered machine, a 12 hp 341 kg/750 lb plane, and became the first to make a successful powered flight, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville flew 36.6 m/120 ft in 12 seconds; Wilbur, 260 m/852 ft in 59 seconds. Orville was born in Dayton, Ohio, and Wilbur in Indiana. They built their piloted glider while running a bicycle business in Dayton. In 1905 the Wrights offered their aeroplane design to the US War Department, though they did not exhibit the planes publicly until 1908-09, when they took them to Europe. From 1909 they manufactured aeroplanes, but Orville sold his interest in the Wright Company 1915, after Wilbur's death. In 1899 the Wrights flew a large kite with controls for warping the wings to achieve control of direction and stability. These were the forerunners of ailerons. They then built a small wind tunnel and tested various wing designs and cambers, compiling the first accurate tables of lift and drag.
