A film on the development of air power of the United States. Wilbur Wright places a large wheel under a Wright Flyer Model A, so it can be towed across a field in the first public demonstration of a Wright Brothers airplane at Le Mans, France. Next, A Wright flyer is seen in flight at Fort Myer, Virginia. An Army balloon is seen aloft in the background.
Headline of the newspaper 'New York American' reads 'Wright Glides in Air as a Hawk, Flies 2.17 miles in 106 seconds'. Pictures of the Wright Model A Flyer under the headlines. Wright Model A Flyer being readied for flight at the Hunaudieres horse racing track near Le Mans, France. A horse-drawn wagon pulls the flyer into a field. Crew of men pull rope to raise a launching weight in a tower. The plane is catapulted along a rail and into the air, when the men release the weight. Spectators in a grandstand look through binoculars. Louis Bleriot is seen. Views of the Wright plane in flight, where it attained an altitude of 360 feet.
Aviation pioneer, Henri Farman, preparing to compete for the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize, by flying a closed one-kilometer course in one minute. He and his ground crew are seen going over his airplane carefully. The box-like tail section of his Voisin airplane, has the words: Henri Farmanni, displayed on it. Farman takes off in his airplane.
Wilber Wright talks with two Frenchmen in Le Mans France. They appear to be discussing a course of flight, as Wilbur Wright and the Frenchmen gesture with their hands and arms.
The bow ot the French antarctic exploration vessel, "Pourquoi Pas?" is seen as it makes way in antarctic waters. Ice floes are all around. The occasion is the second French Antiarctic expedition headed by explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot.
Demonstration of flying given by Wilbur Wright in Le Mans, France. A horse pulls the Wright brother's aircraft across open field. Spectators stand including various high officials in the French government. Mechanics prepare the aircraft for launching. Catapult device being erected on field. Wright brothers aircraft being placed on the launching rail. Spectators on stand. Men pull the catapult device for dropping of weight. Wright brother's aircraft being launched. The aircraft in flight.