GRAHAM WARWICK / KITTY HAWK
Die-hard aviation followers brave downpour to watch restaging of 1903's achievement, only to be disappointed
Thousands of hard-core aviation enthusiasts endured torrential rain to witness two unsuccessful attempts at restaging the Wright brothers' historic first powered flight. Lack of engine power and unco-operative weather prevented the US Experimental Aircraft Association's Wright 1903 Flyer reproduction flying at Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on 17 December, exactly 100 years after the Wright brothers' first powered flight.
The re-enactment attempt was the centrepiece of centennial celebrations that drew a crowd of almost 35,000 to Kill Devil Hills, where the Wrights made their first successful powered flights on 17 December 1903. The Flyer, a painstakingly authentic reproduction built by the Wright Experience, had twice flown successfully during testing, on 20 November and 3 December, when the weather co-operated.
The plan to fly at 10.35, exactly 100 years after the Flyer made its 12s, 37m (120ft) first flight with Orville Wright at the controls, was postponed by heavy rain. An attempt was made just after midday, with engineering professor Dr Kevin Kochersberger as the pilot. The 12hp (9kW) engine, hand-built by Hay Manufacturing, started reluctantly but, as the Flyer trundled down its wooden launch rail, engine RPM was lower than planned and wind dropped below the minimum 10kt (18.5km/h) required. The aircraft reached an altitude of 6in (150mm) for 1s before coming to rest in a puddle.
After a broken wire was repaired, the Wright Experience team, which included X-15 test pilot Scott Crossfield, rolled the Flyer out for a second attempt just after 16.00. The engine was started, but the wind was insufficient and attempts to restage the historic flight were abandoned.
The Wrights chose Kill Devil Hills because of the strong winds, but trees planted since 1903 helped block the wind. "We were just a little bit shy on the wind and a little bit shy on the engine power," says Kochersberger. The reproduction Flyer has been presented to Ford, the major sponsor of EAA's year-long Countdown to Kitty Hawk campaign, for display in its Dearborn, Michigan museum.
Source: Flight International
