17 December 2025 00:00 UTC · The White House · White House Statement · Source · Email X Link

The White House celebrates Wright Brothers Day legacy

Key points

Honors Wright brothers' first powered flight
Details administration's aviation and space priorities

TL;DR

Commemorates Orville and Wilbur Wright's first controlled, machine-powered flight on December 17, 1903.
Notes the brothers were self-taught, lacked high school degrees, and that Orville's Flyer flew 12 seconds for 120 feet at just under 7 miles per hour at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Outlines administration actions: signed an Executive Order restoring FAA excellence and safety, ended certain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, and passed the One Big Beautiful Bill investing $12.5 billion to modernize air traffic control.
Announces focus on returning Americans to the Moon and beyond to Mars and on supersonic flight research and development incorporating Artificial Intelligence.

Original text

Today our Nation celebrates the heroic moment America took to the skies when Orville and Wilbur Wright launched the first controlled, machine-powered aircraft on December 17, 1903. This Wright Brothers Day, we honor the genius and bravery of two pioneers from Dayton, Ohio, and we proudly carry their legacy forward by championing the imagination, perseverance, and bold ambition that gave rise to their magnificent achievement. What the Wright brothers lacked in formal education, they matched with unrelenting drive. Despite not earning high school degrees, Orville and Wilbur taught themselves the mechanical and engineering skills they needed to build their first aircraft. They drew inspiration from European gliders and soon after attempted their own leap into the uncharted frontier of powered flight. After 4 years of relentless research, design, and testing, their work paid off on a cold, gray day near Kitty Hawk when Orville lifted their Flyer into the air for 12 seconds, traveling 120 feet at just under 7 miles per hour. Orville and Wilbur’s feat marked the first time in history that man lifted off the ground in a piloted, mechanized flying machine. The Wright brothers’ epic feat on the windswept shores of North Carolina opened a new chapter of innovation for all mankind and began a new era of American aviation power that continues to propel our country upwards among the clouds and beyond. Since that historic day in North Carolina, the United States has remained the world leader in flight and aviation. Less than seven decades later, the Wright brothers’ triumph at Kitty Hawk led Americans to the moon, and my Administration is focused on returning there, and beyond to Mars. We are also continuing the Wright brothers’ proud legacy by presiding over a new Golden Age of air travel and innovation. Shortly after I returned to office, I signed an Executive Order restoring excellence and safety within the Federal Aviation Administration. We are ending disastrous so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” programs that put Americans at risk and restoring the sacred principle of merit to hiring practices. Through the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, we are investing $12.5 billion to modernize air traffic control with cutting-edge technology. America is also leading the way in supersonic flight. I have ordered the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct groundbreaking levels of research and development into commercial supersonic flight, driving new advances in air travel that will incorporate the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies. In the 122 years since the Wright brothers’ revolutionary flight, our Nation has never stopped gazing upward in wonder and hope. As we commemorate Orville and Wilbur’s legendary achievement today, we pledge to carry their vision into every new frontier and keep America’s skies bright with the innovation, discovery, and unstoppable spirit that drive our Nation to new heights.

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