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Meanwhile...    
How about     
 a little music?     

We have a selection     
of tunes that were     popular during the     
first days of aviation,    performed by Sue     
Keller, courtesy the     
 Ragtime Press:     

Alexander's    
Ragtime Band
 
Irving Berlin 1911    

 Aviation Rag 
Mark Janza 1905    

 Maple Leaf Rag 
Scott Joplin 1899     

Solace 
Scott Joplin 1909    

St. Louis Rag 
Tom Turpin 1903    

Waiting for the    
Robert E. Lee
 
Gilbert/Muir 1912    

  he Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company web site is divided into several sections; each section is further subdivided; and so on as necessary to organize the vast amount of material on this site. The map/outline/table of contents below lists the pages on this site and shows how they fit in to the overall organization.

If you're viewing this page in IE (Internet Explorer), the map is expandable. If there is a down-arrow () following a section head or title, this indicates that there are more pages in that section or following that page. Click on the arrow, and the map will expand, revealing the hidden pages. Click on the arrow again and that portion of the map will collapse. Viewers using Firefox, Safari, and other browsers may not have this convenience.

To navigate to a page on the outline, click on it's underscored title. Note: If a page has no link or is "ghosted" in a light gray, this indicates that it is down for updates and/or repairs.
 

 

Navigation

Aids to help you use the museum and find your way around.

bullet Museum Entrance & Guide
bullet Site Map
bullet Museum Index
bullet Search the Museum
bullet About the Museum
bullet Contact us

 


The first navigation devices to be carried aboard airplanes were gimbaled ship's compasses, such as the old Hutchinson compass shown. They were mounted on the cockpit floor, between the pilot's legs.

History Wing

The story of the Wright brothers, the invention of the airplane, and pioneer aviation (1799 to 1918).

bullet The Wright Story 
bullet The Wright Timeline 
bullet 1860 to 1869
bullet 1870 to 1879
bullet 1880 to 1889
bullet 1890 to 1899
bullet 1900 to 1909
bullet 1910 to 1919
bullet 1920 to 1929
bullet 1930 to 1939
bullet 1940 to 1949
bullet An Unusual Childhood 
bullet The Bishop's Kids (1859 to 1878)
bullet Special Advantages (1878 to 1881)
bullet Settling in Dayton (1881 to 1884)
bullet A Life on Hold (1884 to 1889)
bullet Career Choices 
bullet Printing and Popcorn (1886 to 1889)
bullet Wright & Wright (1889 to 1890) 
bullet Wright vs. Wright
bullet Good News, Bad News (1890 to 1893) 
bullet Volume 1, No. 1
bullet The Bicycle Craze (1893 to 1903)
bullet Just Like Flying (1896)
bullet Inventing the Airplane 
bullet Eyes on the Skies (1896)
bullet An Inkling of an Idea (1896 to1899)
bullet A Warped Experiment (1899)
bullet Kitty Hawk (Spring 1900)
bullet Off on an Adventure (Fall 1900)
bullet Not Within a Thousand Years (Summer 1901)
bullet Through a Tunnel (Fall 1901 to Spring 1902)
bullet Wagging Its Tail (Fall 1902)
bullet Propellers-R-Us (Winter 1902 to Summer 1903)
bullet The French Connection (Spring 1903)
bullet The Darkest Hour (Fall 1903 to Winter 1903)
bullet December 17, 1903
bullet Jonahed (Spring 1904 to Summer 1904)
bullet A Little More Oomph (Fall 1904)
bullet A Practical Flying Machine (1905)
bullet Showing the World 
bullet Politics & Patents (1905 to Spring 1906)
bullet The Prize Patrol (Summer and Fall 1906)
bullet Stalled in Europe (Winter 1906 to Fall 1907)
bullet Bell's Boys (Fall 1907 to Spring 1908)
bullet A Turn for the Purse (Fall 1907 to Winter 1908)
bullet Back in the Air (Winter and Spring 1908)
bullet The June Bug (Summer 1908)
bullet He Flies! (Summer 1908)
bullet Tragedy at For Myer (Fall 1908)
bullet Pushing the Envelope (Fall and Winter 1908)
bullet A Whirlwind Tour (Winter and Spring 1909)(
bullet Them's Our Boys (Spring and Summer 1909)
bullet The Military Flyer (Summer 1909)
bullet Crossing the Channel (Summer 1909)
bullet The Patent Wars (Summer 1909)
bullet Rheims (Summer 1909)
bullet 'Round the Lady (Fall 1909)
bullet The Airplane Business
bullet A Long Twilight
bullet A History of the Airplane 
bullet The Century Before 
bullet The First Airplanes (1799 to 1853)
bullet Powering Up (1854 to 1879)
bullet Pilots & Chauffeurs (1880 to 1898)
bullet The Road to Kitty Hawk (1899 to 1903)
bullet The Century After 
bullet The First to Fly (1904 to 1909)
bullet The Pioneers (1910 to 1914)
bullet The Great War (1915 to 1918)
bullet Doers and Dreamers 
bullet Doers and Dreamers A
bullet Doers and Dreamers B
bullet Doers and Dreamers C
bullet Doers and Dreamers D
bullet Doers and Dreamers E
bullet Doers and Dreamers F 
bullet Charley Furnas 
bullet Mechanical Ambitions
bullet Back at the Prairie
bullet Wright Place & Time
bullet Wind, Sand, & Wings
bullet Two for the Books
bullet Fatal Attractions
bullet Moving On
bullet Almost Forgotten
bullet Doers and Dreamers G
bullet Doers and Dreamers H
bullet Doers and Dreamers I
bullet Doers and Dreamers J
bullet Doers and Dreamers K
bullet Doers and Dreamers L
bullet Doers and Dreamers M
bullet Doers and Dreamers N
bullet Doers and Dreamers O
bullet Doers and Dreamers P
bullet Doers and Dreamers Q
bullet Doers and Dreamers R 
bullet The Tale of the Vin Fiz 
bullet The Hearst Prize
bullet Aristocracy of Heroes
bullet Fix 'er Up, Boys
bullet Help That Man Fly
bullet A Gift to Remember
bullet Been There, Done That
bullet Doers and Dreamers S
bullet Doers and Dreamers T
bullet Doers and Dreamers U
bullet Doers and Dreamers V
bullet Doers and Dreamers W
bullet Doers and Dreamers XYZ
bullet Who Was First? 
bullet Gustav Whitehead
bullet Alberto Santos-Dumont
bullet Aviation's Attic  
bullet With the Wright Brothers in America
bullet The Lost Flights of the Wright Brothers
bullet The 1909 Wright Glider
bullet Kate Carew's Interview
bullet Unbelievable Flying Objects
bullet Everything a Pilot Could Want

 


Quite possibly the first fixed-wing aircraft to lift a person into the air was this "governable parachute" designed by Sir George Cayley. It lifted a small boy aloft near Brompton, England in 1849. Cayley later published an improved design in "Mechanics Magazine" in 1852. This flew in 1854 with Cayley's coachman aboard.

Adventure Wing

Getting up close and hands-on with the Wright brothers.

bullet Will and Orv's Workshop 
bullet The Box Experiment 
bullet Making a Box
bullet Twisting the Box
bullet The 1899 Wright Kite 
bullet Resurrecting the Kite
bullet Kite Plans
bullet Flying the Kite
bullet The 1900 Wright Glider
bullet The 1901 Wright Glider
bullet The 1901 Wright Wind Tunnel 
bullet Lift and Drift
bullet The 1902 Wright Glider 
bullet It All Began Here
bullet Pioneer Models 
bullet Rubber Band Flyer
bullet Return to Kitty Hawk
bullet The Virtual Hangar 
bullet 1899 Kite Replica
bullet 1900 Glider Replica
bullet 1901 Glider Replica
bullet 1902  Glider Replica
bullet 1903 Flyer Replica
bullet 1905 Flyer Replica
bullet Expeditions 
bullet Wright Places
bullet Dayton, Ohio
bullet Kitty Hawk
bullet Greenfield Village 
bullet The Wright Home
bullet The Bicycle Shop

 


Initial experiments with our replica of the 1905 Wright Flyer III showed that the Wright catapult system, combined with the thrust of the propellers, could accelerate the airplane to an airspeed of 29 mph before it reached the end of the launch track.

Exhibits & Programs

Bringing our airplanes and expertise to your school, museum, or institution.

bullet The Secret of Flight 
bullet A Portable Museum
bullet Curriculum
bullet Commendations
bullet Kid's Comments
bullet Costs
bullet Extreme Aviation
bullet Do-It-Yourself Flyer
bullet Ark Angel
bullet Past Successes  
bullet The Birth of Aviation Pavilion
bullet The Centennial Flyer
bullet From Russia to Kitty Hawk
bullet Charley Furnas Memorial

 


Connie Tobias, a senior pilot with US Airways (21,000 hours!) and the first woman to successfully pilot the 1903 Wright Flyer (11 seconds!), described her experience to a group of young people at an exhibit we presented in conjunction with the Aviation Hall of Fame.

Company Store

Everything for the Wright enthusiast, from shirts to propellers.

bullet Plans
bullet Publications
bullet The Big Stuff
bullet About Our Plans
bullet Terms & Conditions

 


One of the most popular T-shirts from our 2003 Centennial of Flight collection.

Information Desk

Checking facts and finding resources about the Wright brothers.

bullet Wright Resources 
bullet Books, Movies, &tc.
bullet Museums and Archives
bullet Pioneer Aviation Links
bullet Help With Homework 
bullet Wright Timeline 
bullet 1860 to 1869
bullet 1870 to 1879
bullet 1880 to 1889
bullet 1890 to 1899
bullet 1900 to 1909
bullet 1910 to 1919
bullet 1920 to 1929
bullet 1930 to 1939
bullet 1940 to 1949
bullet Wright Photos
bullet 1903 Wright Flyer Models
bullet 1903 Wright Flyer Plans and Drawings
bullet Wright Expert Interview
bullet Just the Facts 
bullet The Wright Family 
bullet Wright Genealogy
bullet Katharine Wright
bullet Kites and Gliders 
bullet 1899 Wright Kite
bullet 1900 Wright Glider
bullet 1901 Wright Glider
bullet 1902 Wright Glider
bullet 1911 Wright Glider
bullet Wright Airplanes 
bullet 1903 Wright Flyer I
bullet 1904 Wright Flyer II
bullet 1905 Wright Flyer III
bullet 1907-1909 Wright Model A
bullet 1909 Wright Military Flyer
bullet 1909-1910 Wright Model AB
bullet 1910 Wright Model R
bullet 1910-1911 Wright Model B
bullet 1911-1912 Wright Model EX
bullet 1912 Wright Model C
bullet 1913 Wright Model CH
bullet 1912 Wright Model D
bullet 1913 Wright Model E
bullet 1913-1914 Wright Model G
bullet Engines and Propellers 
bullet 1903 Wright Engine
bullet 1903 Wright Propellers
bullet 1904 Wright Engine
bullet 1904 Wright Test Engine
bullet 1905 Wright Engine and Propellers
bullet 1907 Wright Vertical 4 Engine
bullet 1912 Wright Vertical 6 Engine
bullet Wright Bicycles
bullet Wright Trivia

 


While it's well-known that the Wrights borrowed a lot of bicycle technology for their Flyers, some of it is as subtle as it is ingenious. For example, take the frame of a Wright bicycle and rotate it about 70 degrees and you have a propeller support for a Wright airplane!

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"Aviation is proof that – given the will – we can do the impossible."
 Eddie Rickenbacker

 

 

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www.wright-brothers.org