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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.

	Museum Entrance & Guide
	Site Map
	Museum Index
	Search the Museum
	About the Museum  Translation
	Contact us
	An Unique Opportunity

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).

	The Wright Story  The Wright Timeline  1860 to 1869 1870 to 1879 1880 to 1889 1890 to 1899 1900 to 1909 1910 to 1919 1920 to 1929 1930 to 1939 1940 to 1949 An Unusual Childhood  The Bishop's Kids (1859 to 1878) Special Advantages (1878 to 1881) Settling in Dayton (1881 to 1884) A Life on Hold (1884 to 1889) Career Choices  Printing and Popcorn (1886 to 1889) Wright & Wright (1889 to 1890)  Wright vs. Wright Good News, Bad News (1890 to 1893)  Volume 1, No. 1 The Bicycle Craze (1893 to 1903)  1900 Wright Van Cleve Catalogue Just Like Flying (1896) Inventing the Airplane  Eyes on the Skies (1896) An Inkling of an Idea (1896 to1899)  Mo' Info A Warped Experiment (1899)  Inner Tube Box Kitty Hawk (Spring 1900)  Afflicted with the Belief Off on an Adventure (Fall 1900)  The Voyage of the Curlicue Summing Up The Wright Triangle Not Within a Thousand Years (Summer 1901)  There Came a Mighty Swarm The Angle of Incidence Kitty Hawk in a Box (Fall 1901 to Spring 1902) Wagging Its Tail (Fall 1902)  The Last Piece of the Puzzle Propellers-R-Us (Winter 1902 to Summer 1903) The French Connection (Spring 1903) The Darkest Hour (Fall 1903 to Winter 1903) December 17, 1903  Orville Wrights Diary: December 17, 1903 Viginia Pilot Story: December 18, 1903 Jonahed (Spring 1904 to Summer 1904) A Little More Oomph (Fall 1904) A Practical Flying Machine (1905) Showing the World  Politics & Patents (1905 to Spring 1906)  Patent No. 821,343 The Prize Patrol (Summer and Fall 1906) Stalled in Europe (Winter 1906 to Fall 1907)  Selling the Wright Aeroplane Meeting Mr. Wright Bell's Boys (Fall 1907 to Spring 1908)  Letter to Mabel A Turn for the Purse (Fall 1907 to Winter 1908) Back in the Air (Winter and Spring 1908)  Signal Corps Specification No. 486 The June Bug (Summer 1908) He Flies! (Summer 1908) Tragedy at For Myer (Fall 1908)  The Wright Brothers Aeroplane Pushing the Envelope (Fall and Winter 1908) A Whirlwind Tour (Winter and Spring 1909)( Them's Our Boys (Spring and Summer 1909) The Military Flyer (Summer 1909)  A Day to be Remembered Crossing the Channel (Summer 1909)  Bleriot's Cross-Channel Flight The Patent Wars (Summer 1909) Rheims (Summer 1909) 'Round the Lady (Fall 1909) The Airplane Business A Long Twilight
	A History of the Airplane  The Century Before  The First Airplanes (1799 to 1853) Powering Up (1854 to 1879) Airmen & Chauffeurs (1880 to 1898) The Road to Kitty Hawk (1899 to 1903) The Decade After  Landing Without Crashing (1904 to 1905) Wake Up Call 1 (1905 to 1909) Wake Up Call 2 (1905 to 1909) Wake Up Call 3 (1905 to 1909) Wake Up Call 4 (1905 to 1909) Faster, Higher, Farther 1 (1909 to 1912) Faster, Higher, Farther 2 (1909 to 1912) Girding for Battle (1912 to 1914) Pilots, Planes and Pioneers  Pilots, Planes and Pioneers A The Wright/Smithsonian Controversy  The Flight of the Langley Aerodrome Patents and Politics Aerodrome Beginnings Rebuilding a Reputation Jump-Starting the Langley Laboratory  Letter to the Editor An Idea Whose Time Has Come Making the Aerodrome Airworthy  Comparing the 1903 and 1914 Langley Aerodromes Maintaining the Flow of Misinformation Return Fire  Why the Wright Flyer Was Sent to England The Plot to Kidnap the Flyer Resolution Pilots, Planes and Pioneers B Pilots, Planes and Pioneers C Pilots, Planes and Pioneers D Pilots, Planes and Pioneers E Pilots, Planes and Pioneers F  Charley Furnas, the First Airplane Passenger  Mechanical Ambitions Wright Place & Time Wind, Sand, & Wings Two for the History Books Fatal Attractions Moving On Almost Forgotten Pilots, Planes and Pioneers G Pilots, Planes and Pioneers H Pilots, Planes and Pioneers I Pilots, Planes and Pioneers J Pilots, Planes and Pioneers K Pilots, Planes and Pioneers L Pilots, Planes and Pioneers M Pilots, Planes and Pioneers N Pilots, Planes and Pioneers O Pilots, Planes and Pioneers P Pilots, Planes and Pioneers Q Pilots, Planes and Pioneers R  Cal Rodgers and the Tale of the Vin Fiz  Aristocracy of Heroes The Hearst Prize Fix 'er Up, Boys Help That Man Fly A Gift to Remember Been There, Done That Vin Fiz Revisited Pilots, Planes and Pioneers S Pilots, Planes and Pioneers T Pilots, Planes and Pioneers U Pilots, Planes and Pioneers V Pilots, Planes and Pioneers W Pilots, Planes and Pioneers XYZ Who Was First?  The Smithsonian Contract  Just Whose Conspiracy Is This? Gustav Whitehead  Whitehead Articles Alberto Santos-Dumont
	Aviation's Attic   With the Wright Brothers in America The Lost Flights of the Wright Brothers The 1909 Wright Glider Kate Carew's Interview Charles Flint Remembers Unbelievable Flying Objects 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.

	Will and Orv's Workshop  Inner Tube Box Experiment  Not Quite Wright Kite  Making the Not Quite Wright Kite Flying the Not Quite Wright Kite Wind Tunnel and Balance 1902 Wright Glider Model Vintage Rubber Band-Powered Flyer Model
	Return to Kitty Hawk
	The Virtual Hangar  1899 Kite Replica 1900 Glider Replica 1901 Glider Replica 1901 Wind Tunnel Replica 1902  Glider Replica 1903 Flyer Replica 1905 Flyer Replica  The Real McCoy: The Original 1905 Wright Flyer
	Expeditions  Dayton, Ohio Area  The Real McCoy: The Original 1905 Wright Flyer Outerbanks, NC Dearborn, MI Washington DC Indiana Elsewhere

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.

	The Secret of Flight  Secret of Flight Packet (pdf) Scholastic Benchmarks (pdf) Kind Words from Others
	The Birth of Aviation Exhibition
	Do-It-Yourself Flyer
	Past Successes   The Birth of Aviation Pavilion The Centennial Flyer From Russia to Kitty Hawk 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.

	Plans
	Publications
	The Big Stuff
	About Our Plans
	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.

	Wright Resources  Books and Videos Museums and Libraries Pioneer Aviation Links
	Help With Homework  Wright Timeline  1860 to 1869 1870 to 1879 1880 to 1889 1890 to 1899 1900 to 1909 1910 to 1919 1920 to 1929 1930 to 1939 1940 to 1949 Wright Photos 1903 Wright Flyer Models 1903 Wright Flyer Plans and Drawings Wright Expert Interview
	Just the Facts  The Wright Family  Wright Genealogy  Wright Beginnings circa 1050 First in Line circa 1400 Landed Gentry circa 1500 A Nation of Saints circa 1650 On to Ohio circa 1800 Bishop Milton Wright Katharine Wright  The American Girl Whom All Europe is Watching Wright Kites and Gliders  1899 Wright Kite 1900 Wright Glider 1901 Wright Glider 1902 Wright Glider 1911 Wright Glider Wright Airplanes  1903 Wright Flyer I 1904 Wright Flyer II 1905 Wright Flyer III 1907-1909 Wright Model A 1909 Wright Military Flyer 1909-1910 Wright Model AB 1910 Wright Model R 1910-1911 Wright Model B 1911-1912 Wright Model EX 1912 Wright Model C 1913 Wright Model CH 1912 Wright Model D 1913 Wright Model E 1913-1914 Wright Model G 1916 Model L Wright Engines and Propellers  Wright Engines Overview 1903 Wright Engine 1903 Wright Propellers 1904-1905 Wright Engines 1905-1915 Wright Propellers 1906-1912 Wright 440 Engine 1911-1915 Wright 660 Engine Wright Bicycles Wright Trivia

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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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