Sim Demonstrates Thrill Of Historic First Flight

A Wright Flyer simulator on loan to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University April 7-11 will give participants the chance to experience the excitement of the Wright brothers during their historic flight at Kitty Hawk (NC), just over 100 years ago.

The simulator, a full-size replica of the Wright Flyer, will be supervised by Embry-Riddle students in the first-floor atrium of Embry-Riddle's Aviation Building. It will be available April 7-9 on a walk-in basis.

To use the simulator, a person lies on the bottom wing, controlling the wings with hip action and the elevators with hand movements. While the aircraft stays stationery, a computer screen displays the shifting Kitty Hawk landscape that corresponds to the user's movements, creating the illusion of flight, and realistic engine noise is generated.

"Embry-Riddle is delighted to share this simulator with the community," says Dr. Tim Brady, dean of Embry-Riddle's College of Aviation. "Getting the chance to feel what it was like to pilot the Flyer is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will give all of us new appreciation for the skills and courage of aviation's pioneers."

Orville Wright, at the controls of the Flyer on Dec. 17, 1903, is credited with making the world's first flight in a powered, heavier-than-air machine. The aircraft covered 120 feet in 12 seconds. He and his brother, Wilbur, made three more flights that day. The longest, by Wilbur, was 852 feet in 59 seconds.

FMI: www.erau.edu