As Close to an Exact Copy as Humanly Possible, Flyer Will
Re-Enact the Wright Brothers' First Flight
With the countdown clock ticking to the 100th anniversary of the
Wright brothers' first powered flight, EAA unveiled its 1903
Wright Flyer reproduction in a ceremony at Ronald Reagan Washington
National Airport Tuesday.
As the world's most accurate re-creation of the original Wright
Flyer, EAA's Flyer reproduction will re-enact the Wright brothers'
first flight 100 years to the minute, on December 17, 2003, in Kill
Devil Hills (NC). Prior to this historic event, EAA's 1903 Wright
Flyer reproduction also will serve as the centerpiece of EAA's
Countdown to Kitty Hawk touring pavilion. The 24,000 square-foot
exposition will celebrate the Wrights' first flight with displays
on the Wright brothers, aviation history and aviation innovations
along with activities for youth.
With Amanda Wright Lane and her brother Stephen
Wright, both descendents of Wilbur and Orville Wright, looking on,
EAA and its sponsors for Countdown to Kitty Hawk rolled out the
605-pound aircraft handmade primarily of wood, steel and
muslin.
"The eyes of the world will be on EAA's Wright Flyer this coming
December 17 as we attempt to re-create the Wright brothers'
first-powered flight on the dunes of North Carolina," said EAA
President and U.S. Centennial of Flight Commissioner Tom Poberezny.
"This Wright Flyer reproduction represents a long-standing
commitment by EAA and its partners to preserve the Wright brothers'
legacy and their unbridled spirit of innovation that forever
changed our world."
A Replica, not a Copy
Ken Hyde, of Warrenton (VA)-based The Wright
Experience, the organization that built the Flyer, said, "It's
pretty easy to build a Wright Flyer replica that looks
like the first plane, but it's very difficult to build one that is
an exact reproduction. Building this Flyer was the
ultimate reverse engineering job with a major catch: we had to
ignore what we had learned over the past 100 years and embrace the
Wright brothers' way of thinking."
"Microsoft Flight Simulator," demonstrated a 1903 Wright Flyer
virtual cradle to accompany its upcoming "Microsoft® Flight
Simulator: A Century of Flight" software program. The cradles,
which will be part of the touring pavilion, allow would-be pilots
to operate the "aircraft" from a horizontal hip cradle, using hand
levers and a shifting hip mechanism to control virtual takeoffs and
landings in front of a giant panoramic projection screen. Eclipse
Aviation and Ford are also supporting sponsors of the program.
Countdown to Kitty Hawk partners include the Library of
Congress, National Park Service, First Flight Centennial Commission
and Inventing Flight.
In early 2004, EAA's 1903 Wright Flyer reproduction will become
part of a new aviation display at the Henry Ford Museum in
Dearborn, Michigan.