For five years after their first flights, the Wright Brothers barely flew in public. They wanted signed contracts before showing their machine.
On August 8, 1908, Wilbur Wright flew at a racetrack near Le Mans, France. His first flight lasted one minute and 45 seconds. He flew banking turns and figure-eights. French aviation pioneers watched.
The French public flocked to the field by the thousands. The United States Army signed a contract for 25,000 dollars. The brothers had sold the airplane by showing it.