Inelegant Landing Leaves Nobody Hurt

The replica Wright brothers 1911 Model EX, the most famous example of which was named Vin Fiz, and which set a transcontinental record at the hands of Cal Rodgers in 1911, will be repaired.

Builder/pilot, 68-year-old Dana Smith, wasn't as down as one might have expected. For one thing, he wasn't hurt -- he was able to drive himself home. For another, the machine is repairable -- he said it could be flying again in a week. The last thing -- he got a mess of publicity. "You get more publicity wrecking it than you do flying it," he said, as he inspected some of the crumpled bits.

What happened?

Apparently the marginally-powerful replica was set to take off into a reasonable headwind... which quit, as the machine was on its takeoff 'roll.'

Witnesses said the plane bounced, and slowed. Then Smith, they said, pulled back, which caused the tail to smack into the ground. That set the nose into a negative attitude, the skids' tips caught grass, and she stopped flying.

The crash happened Saturday at Bath (ME), in a local celebtarion called Ruth Law Day. Smith, who is proud to have a Wright replica that people aren't afraid to fly, was happy to celebrate that pioneering aviatrix's day. [Ruth Law bought a 1911 Flyer Model B, and flew it for 23 minutes for astounded crowds at this same location, on August 9, 1913. She was also the first woman to make a night flight or a loop; and she once held the Chicago-New York speed record --ed.]

FMI: www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/aero/aircraft/wrightex.htm