Wright Brothers National Memorial

Ref: US National Park Service (2025). Wright Brothers National Memorial; Kitty Hawk, NC.

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Wright Brothers

1899: The Wright Brothers experiment with kites.
Sep-Oct, 1900: The Wright Brothers experiment with a man-carrying glider (~50 lbs) embodying the principle of lateral control used in the kite model. Its innovative features are wings that twist to roll the aircraft right or left and an “elevator” in front that moves the nose up or down.
Jul-Aug, 1901: The Wright Brothers experiment with a larger glider (98 lbs), but still have problems with lift and control. The elevator and wing-warping behave erratically, leading to flat spins into the ground.
Sep-Oct, 1902: The Wright Brothers experiment with a larger glider (112 lbs with a 32’ wingspan). They add a new curve to the wings, and a movable rudder, instead of a fixed tail, which make this glider a winner.
1903: The Wright Brothers construct a glider with wings, a rudder, an elevator, and a hip cradle.
1903 Plane

Engine: Produces the power that moves the propellers; 170 lbs, 12 HP, minimal vibration; and a 1-gal fuel tank.
Wings: Braced in a sturdy beam structure, but flexible for wing-warping to control roll.
Rudder: Controls yaw, moving side to side.
Elevator: Controls pitch, moving the front of the flyer up and down.
Hip Cradle: The pilot shifts the cradle with his hips. This activates cables that cause the wings to warp- banking the flyer side to side (roll); and the rudder to shift- turning the flyer left and right (yaw).

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“For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man. My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life”- Wilbur to Octave Chanute (1900).

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17 Dec, 1903: Flight; at 1035 in the dunes of Kill Devil Hills, NC, Orville and Wilbur Wright release their plane down a monorail, launching their flyer into the air for 12 seconds and traveling 120’. Their second flight travels for 175’ in 12 seconds; the third goes 200 feet in 15 seconds; the fourth travels 852’ in 59 seconds (Wright Brothers, NPS).
1891-1896: Otto Lilienthal makes over 2000 successful glider flights. After many experimental glides, he crashes and dies in 1896. Again and again, Wilbur and Orville turn to Lilienthal’s data on aerodynamics (Wright Brothers, NPS).

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