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Wright Flyer III 

The Original 1905    
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right airplanes are elegant machines that hold the same fascination  as tall ships, steam locomotives, and vintage automobiles.  And it's not just because they are old or quaint. They are the essence of flying -- a set of wings, an engine, propellers, and a place to sit. Their design is entirely functional, there is no ornament, not a part that does not have a purpose. Yet, for all that function, they have a striking and exciting appearance. If adventure were a solid thing, this is the form it would take.

It's no surprise that some of our members with a craftsman's appreciation for a fine machine have built replicas of these pioneer aircraft. Presently, we have completed ten Wright aircraft – six to study in flight, two for display, and two we helped students to build. Most of these flying machines are designed for over-the-road travel so they can reach the widest possible audience. Some are part of our "portable museum" that we tour to schools and libraries -- the Secret of Flight Project. Others are available for museums and exhibitions.

All of the aircraft we have built so far are replicas of the Wright's "experimental" kites, glider, and Flyers – the aircraft the Wrights built between 1899 and 1905 in their quest for a practical flying machine. We have collected pictures of our replicas here so you can do  virtual "walk-around."
 

 
The 1899 Wright Kite was the Wright brothers first aeronautical experiment. It wasn't a really a kite, but a miniature glider designed to test an aerodynamic control system. Wilbur Wright devised a system to twist or "warp" the biplane wings of the model glider, causing one wing tip to turn up while the other turned down. This caused the wings to develop more lift on one side and less lift on the other, rolling the aircraft. This flying reproduction was featured in the PBS documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention. It is one of the artifacts in our "portable museum" that tours with our Secret of Flight Project.
 

1899 Wright Kite.
The 1900 Wright Glider was the Wright brother's first  man-carrying aircraft, and first in which they made free flights. It did not produce enough lift to fly much more than a few hundred feet, nonetheless it gave the brothers a taste of what it was like to fly. The glider had aerodynamics controls for roll (wing warping)and pitch (a forward elevator). Early on the aircraft had a stationary tail with vertical and horizontal fins, but this was discarded after a few tests.  This replica was flown at Jockey's Ridge State Park, North Carolina on October 22, 2000 to mark the centennial anniversary of the Wright's first gliding flights. It was also featured in the documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention.
 

1900 Wright Glider.
The 1901 Wright Glider was the Wright brother's second attempt to build a  man-carrying aircraft, and first in which they tried to make a turn in the air by rolling the aircraft. It was much larger the 1900 glider before it, but still did not produce the predicted amount of lift. Furthermore, their aerodynamic controls were less effective than on their previous machine. These multiple problems very nearly convinced the Wright brothers to abandon aeronautics. This replica flew at Jockey's Ridge State Park, North Carolina on September 9 to mark the centennial anniversary of the Wright's 1901 gliding experiments. It was also featured in the documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention.
 

1901 Wright Glider.
The 1901 Wright Wind Tunnel, along with its balances, was the scientific instrument the Wright brothers built to help design an aircraft capable of lifting itself and a pilot off the ground. You don't necessarily expect to find a wind tunnel in a hangar – even a virtual hangar – but this machine was crucial to the Wright brothers' eventual success. It was this machine that allowed them to compare the shape and camber of hundreds of wings and pick the best one for their purposes. For that reason it was also crucial to our archaeological investigation. We built a replica tunnel, then conducted the same tests as the Wrights. Like many of the machines in our hangar, this tunnel was featured in the documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention. It is also one of the artifacts in our portable museum that tours with our Secret of Flight Project.
 

1901 Wright Wind Tunnel.

The 1902 Wright Glider was the first fully controllable aircraft, with aerodynamic control surfaces for 3-axis control – wing-warping for roll, an elevator for pitch, and a rudder for yaw.. It was also the aircraft on which the Wrights based their patent.  Every successful aircraft made since can trace its roots back to this machine. This reproduction was flown on by test pilots from the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Army at Jockey's Ridge State Park, North Carolina to celebrate the Centennial of Controlled Flight on October 8, 2002. We have flown it many times since then, including for the documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention. Another 1902 glider replica, built and flown by young men and women from Russia, Ohio is the centerpiece of our Secret of Flight Project.
 


1902 Wright Glider.
The 1903 Wright Flyer I became the first aircraft to successfully make sustained, controlled powered flights on December 17, 1903. On that date, the Wrights made four flights, the longest lasting 59 seconds and covering 852 feet (260 meters). After the last flight it was wrecked by a gust of wind and never flew again. We attempted to fly our replica in 2003 and 2004 in both North Carolina and Ohio. On January 7, 2004 we successfully repeated the first flights of the Wright brothers and Connie Tobias, a veteran pilot from US Airways, became the first woman to successfully fly the 1903 Wright Flyer. This aircraft was also featured in the documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention.
 

1903 Wright Flyer I.
The 1905 Wright Flyer III was the first "practical" airplane – an airplane that could take off in a wide range of weather environments, navigate to a predetermined location, and land "without crashing," as Wilbur so succinctly put it. It was also the first airplane with independent controls for each axis. In the 1902 glider and the 1903 Flyer, the Wright brothers had "coupled" the wind-warping with the rudder so that both were activated by the same control. In the Flyer III, the rudder and the elevator had separate controls which aided the pilot's ability to maneuver the airplane. Our replica includes a reproduction of the Wright catapult, a wooden tower that drops a substantial weight to provide extra thrust to the aircraft during its launch.

1903 Wright Flyer III.

Something Missing?

Why don't we include the 1904 Wright Flyer II in this line-up? For the simple reason that the Flyer II was a copy of the Flyer I. The Flyer I made only four flights at Kitty Hawk before a gust of wind rolled the aircraft and destroyed it. When they arrived back in Dayton in 1903, the Wright brothers realized that they hadn't thoroughly tested their airplane and hadn't learned enough about it to build a better one. So they rebuilt the design in 1904 and proceeded with test flights.

There were a very few changes on the Flyer II. When the first Flyer rolled, the Wrights discovered how fragile the ribs were -- every single one broke! So they simplified the rib design to make them stronger and slightly altered the camber from 1:20 to 1:24. They also beefed up the frame of aircraft, particularly the skids, to make it stronger. This made the airplane heavier. Finally, they built a new engine and added an oil pump. There may have also been further improvements to the engine to help it produce more power and run cooler. But all these were minor tweaks. Visually and aerodynamically, the second Flyer was the twin of the first one.
 


The 1903 Wright Flyer I (top) and the 1904 Wright Flyer II (bottom), photographed from nearly the same angle.

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