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On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the world's first successful flights in a heavier-than-air craft under power and control. The airplane had been designed, constructed, and flown by them, each brother making two flights that day. The longest, by Wilbur, extended to a distance of 260 m (852 ft) in 59 sec. The next year, continuing the development of their design and improving their skill as pilots, the brothers made 105 …

…dertaken. The transcontinental nonstop flight record was reduced by American aviators flying small planes and, subsequently, transport planes. In 1930 Roscoe Turner flew from New York City to Los Angeles in 18 hr 43 min; Frank Hawks flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 12 hr 25 min. In 1937 Howard Hughes flew from Burbank, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hr 28 min. In 1939 Ben Kelsey flew from Marsh Field, California, to Mitchell Field, New York, in 7 hr 45 min.