The Discovery of Flight Foundation has received a
major gift from Northrop Grumman Corporation for pilot training as
preparations continue for the Countdown to Kitty Hawk Celebration
on Dec. 17, 2003. On that date, a pilot for The Wright Experience,
which is under contract by the Foundation, will attempt to
re-create Orville Wright's inaugural 120-feet flight in a precise
reproduction of the original plane, 100 years later at the precise
location of the original flight on the dunes of the Outer Banks in
North Carolina.
The
flight will be made in the authentic reproduction of the Wright
brothers' original aircraft, the 1903 Wright Flyer. The aircraft is
being built under the sponsorship of The Ford Motor Company and
EAA. Ken Hyde, the founder of The Wright Experience, has been
working for more than five years to research, redesign,
remanufacture, test, analyze and document authentic Wright
brothers' aircraft. He supervises a small army of engineers,
mechanics and volunteers at his pristine shop near here between his
home and a 2,100-foot grass landing strip. The gliders, powered
flyers, original engines and propellers are made to exacting
standards to ensure they share the precise characteristics of
original Wright Brothers parts.
Weldon Britton, chairman of The Discovery of Flight Foundation
and, along with Hyde, one of the charter members of this years-long
endeavor, said the Northrop Grumman contribution will be key to the
years of effort.
"The pilot training program is vital," Britton said. "Before
that first flight 100 years ago, Orville and Wilbur Wright didn't
know whether they would actually be able to fly their invention. We
face many of their same risks, and this new gift will enable us to
take some, but not all, of the risk out of the program." [Most of
the crop of test pilots, men and women who really know how
to fly, "crashed" the Wright Flyer sim on their first flight
attempts --ed.]
Hyde and three other pilots picked for the
training program have spent more than a year training on a glider,
just as the Wright brothers did. Two of those four pilots will be
selected to fly the '03 Flyer later this year, after wind tunnel
testing on the aircraft has been completed, and after the training
program has concluded. Scott Crossfield, a legendary aviation
pioneer who was the first to fly at twice the speed of sound as a
NASA test pilot, is in charge of the pilot training.
The glider being used as a trainer is also an exact reproduction
of the Wrights that Hyde and his team of experts have constructed.
Their reproductions are so precise that The Wright Experience is
recognized by The Wright Family Foundation, descendants of the
Wright Brothers who are involved in promoting the Wright brothers'
aeronautical legacy. The Wright Experience was picked to attempt
the 100th anniversary flight by the U. S. Park Service, which
maintains the Kitty Hawk site.
Northrop Grumman's donation will fund the
construction of the Wright Model B project, which they intend to
fly and display for educational and promotional purposes throughout
the country through 2008. Northrop Grumman's funding will also be a
major part in a NOVA documentary, "Inventing the Flying Machine,"
that will air in October on public television. The Model B will
also be on display as the centerpiece of Northrop Grumman
Corporation's exhibit at the Paris Air Show this June.
"Northrop Grumman is proud to participate in this unique
undertaking that will enable a reproduction of the original Wright
Flyer to grace the skies," said Kent Kresa, Northrop Grumman
chairman and chief executive officer. "The 100th anniversary of
human flight reminds us of a seminal moment in aviation and
American history. It is altogether fitting for Northrop Grumman, a
company with an exceptional tradition of designing and building
innovative aircraft, to contribute to this project."
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