First WHAT? (Score 1)

The Wright brothers' flight was the first... what?

Obviously not the first human flight. Or controlled flight. Or powered flight. Or flight over level ground. Etc. People were already doing kites and gliders and models and a plethora of flying machines.

Serious attempts to say "first what" seem to say something like "the first flight which was manned, and powered, and controlled, and sustained, and over level ground, and blah, blah, blah".

With the corollary that if you drop a parameter, then some other effort was "first". Providing for no end of silly arguments over "firstness". And for laughably absurd "the Wrights were the first _foo_" claims in news coverage.

Flying was "in the air"...