The Wright Flyer

This One Flew

 Hello Flyer friends,
On Sunday, 4/27/2003, we took our Wright Flyer out onto the grass runway, next to the main runway at Clow Airport in Bolingbrook, Il. The takeoff rail was put down, just like the Wright Brothers did. 
 
To check the smoothness of the rail, we walked the Flyer down the rail and back. Minor adjustments made to the rail. Next the engine was 
started and we walked it down the rail again, slowly. Fine. 
 
So then Mark Miller said let's see if we can get liftoff. Remember, there have only been tests done pulling the Flyer on a 4 wheel cart 
behind a pickup. Not a lot of stability testing here. Or the abilityto do so, because money is limited (The group in Virginia, run by Ken
Hyde, has several million dollars from Ford, Intel, Microsoft, and own their own wind tunnel). 
 
There was a 12-15 mph headwind (the Wrights had about 25 mph). Warmed up the engine (still the Briggs & Stratton), and brought up the revs.
  It was quite a feeling to hear those two 8 1/2 ft props flapping away, and feel the vibration building up. We held the Flyer back. I was on the port, left wingtip. Wind was right (or Wright?), they signaled to let go. We jumped away, and off she rolled. It was stable, and at about 50+ ft down the rail she lifted off the rail about a foot, and then flew about 1 1/2 ft off the ground..........for 138 feet! YEA!! The Wright's first flight was
120feet.

This had been the goal all along. 
 
The field went nuts. Everyone was cheering and backslapping. People were v-taping from their homes along the grass airstrip -- they have hangers instead of garages on the back of their homes. They came running out, too. 
 
The whole thing was videotaped by The History Channel. They had three cameras running most of the day. They have taken over from the National Geographic Channel, who ran out of money and relinquished all of their footage of the Flyer being built, to the History Channel. They brought a crew in from Boston for four days, not expecting a flight yet. They called ABC/Ch7 and gave them flight footage, with interviews. So the Flyer was on the news monday at 5 and 10 pm. Remember, The Spirit of Glen Ellyn was the first Wright replica to get  FAA flight numbers and flight approval.  Our flyer is listed as Experimental. The FAA assigned the Flyer tail number N-203WF (the Second '03 Wright Flyer). How nice is that?
 
Casting the 1903 engine block is done, along with crankshaft, valves, etc. Cast to the Smithsonian drawings using the lost wax method. The Smithsonian has been very helpful, giving a complete set of Flyer drawings. Even volunteered their own propeller specialist to help Mark Miller, who is a cabinetmaker, as he carved/built the props. 
 
The Wright engine was water cooled, 4 cylinder. Could not run very long before getting hot. So the Wrights determined to cast the block in Aluminum, for better cooling. And in 1903, aluminum was rare and expensive. Not common at all. The engine has cast iron sleeves and pistons. 
 
Imagine the foresight of the Wrights; Two things: First, using a block cast in aluminum, and second and MOST important, figuring out wingwarping. The pilot is laying down and swings his hips in a cradle left/right, and thru guide wires connected from the cradle to the tips of the wings, the tips of two wings on one side lift while the opposite tips droop, controlling stability. In 1903!! The USAF is just now experimenting on a working F18A with computer controlled wing warping, for better combat control. The Wrights did 1500 glider test flights before flying, 1899-1903. 
 
Well, we were excited. But a 1 foot elevation did not look great on tape. In fact, much to our disappointment, the weatherman Jerry Taft at ABC7 news, and a well known pilot, laughed at the flight.. 
 
We did a second flight with about the same result. Third try ended up a dud, as the carriage that rolls along under the plane on the rail
flipped up at liftoff and caught the tail section and broke a few things and the plane just dropped to the grass. 
 
All in all, it was an unplanned, and great day! What a good feeling everyone had.   ---  Ron Robinson