Model Aviation Special Section Centennial of Flight - 2003/11

November 2003 17

We are at the threshold of 100
years of powered flight. December 17,
2003 will mark the actual date of this
anniversary. We are celebrating that
milestone in this issue of Model Aviation
with this special section dedicated to
the spirit and ingenuity of the pioneers
of aviation and those who love flying.
The realm of aviation means even
more to us as modelers. In a world
where flying is taken so much for
granted, we celebrate it daily. Wilbur
and Orville started their dreams of flight
with a simple flying model, and we
now continue on with that dream. May
we never forget the contributions of the
Wright’s and all of the other dedicated
pioneers who made flying a reality.
Model Aviation Special Section



Contents
Catapult Launching System............Page 18
Replicating the Wright Flyer.......Page 20
Spinning Tops to Whirling Props...Page 24
My View From the Clouds...............Page 27
Lydia Whitehead illustrates the method the Wright
brothers used to launch their aircraft.
Howard Kelem recalls how a team of students and
teachers seized the opportunity of a lifetime.
Michael Smith gives an overview of the National Model
Aviaiton Museum’s exhibit.
Ken Estes provides a fictional diary of significant advances
in aviation.
Centennial
Flight
of 1903-2003


18 MODEL AVIATION
The Catapult Launching System
Preparing for Flight: A line of men pulled on the
rope to raise the weight to the top of the tower.
(See photo at left.) The rope led through a geared
pulley system from the weight, down underneath
the track, around a pulley mounted at the end of
the track, and was hooked to a bar at the center
of the leading edge of the Flyer’s bottom wing.
After starting the engine, the pilot climbed aboard.
Photo courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University
Raising the Weight
Catapult Tower:
The tower, most
likely a salvaged
derrick, was 20
feet high and
held a 1,600-
pound weight on
a rope.
Diagram by Lydia Whitehead
Prepping the Flyer: Using two wheels placed under
each wing, the Wright brothers rolled out the Flyer
and set its front roller on the rail. To place the
carriage on the rail, they lifted the back end of the
aircraft, slid the carriage underneath on the rail, and
set the Flyer skids on the carriage. The Flyer was
then anchored in place by a wire attached to a
stake driven into the ground, preventing the it from
moving once the rope holding the weight was
attached.
When Orville and Wilbur Wright decided to bring their test
flights closer to home and moved from Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, to Huffman Prairie, Ohio, in 1904, they faced a new
problem: getting the Flyer 2 up to flight speed. By their
calculations, the Flyer 2 had to be moving at a speed of at
least 27-28 miles per hour relative to the wind to make a
successful launch. The slower the wind speed, the faster the
airplane needed to move for takeoff.
The Wrights’ solution to this problem involved building a
device to get them up to flying speed: a catapult. They first
tested the system on September 7, 1904, and found that it
was the key to the Flyer’s launching success. Subsequent
Wright Flyers used this same launching system. Below
illustrates step-by-step how the catapult system operated.
1
2
November 2003 19
Takeoff: The pilot released a clip holding
the anchored rope and the weight began
to drop. The resulting force created by
the weight dropping sent the Flyer along
the rail and launched it into the air.
More About the Catapult System

Bicycle-wheel hubs were used for the front
and carriage rollers.

The Wright brothers used a 600-pound
weight during their first attempt with the
catapult system and subsequently increased
the poundage in stages to 1,600.

The length of the track and the size of the
weight varied at times, depending on wind
conditions and other variables.
Sources: www.first-to-fly.org, www.wrightbrothers.
org, Wright State University,
National Model Aviation Museum Curator
Michael Smith, Wilbur and Orville: A
Biography of the Wright Brothers by Fred
Howard, The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of
Wilbur and Orville Wright by Tom Crouch,
Kill Devil Hill by Harry Combs
At Kitty Hawk we had unlimited space
and wind enough to make starting easy
with a short track. If the wind was very
light we could utilize the hills if necessary
in getting the initial velocity. Here we
must depend on a long track, and light
winds or even dead calms.
—Wilbur Wright in a 1904 letter to Octave
Chanute on the conditions at Huffman Prairie ‘‘ ‘‘
Note: The airplane in the diagram above
is based on the 1909 Wright Flyer.
3
ince we are approaching the 100th anniversary of
man’s first successful flight—which took place on
December 17, 1903—the time has come to tell
about the construction of the Wright brothers’
“Kitty Hawk” Flyer replica.
This reproduction was built for The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey honoring our nation’s
bicentennial in 1976 and was hung from the ceiling of the
International Arrivals Building at the John F. Kennedy
International Airport.
Thousands of people pass through the airport each
day. Those who are fortunate enough to have viewed the
airplane hanging in the spot previously occupied by an
Alexander Calder mobile marveled at the workmanship
apparent in this full-scale, accurately detailed replica of
the Wright Brothers’ incredible flying machine. Almost as
incredible is the process that led to the model’s
exhibition.
Just before Christmas in 1975 The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey gave Donald Burns—one of its
top staff members—a task that appeared impossible:
reconstructing an accurate replica of the Wright brothers’
Kitty Hawk airplane.
It seemed
simple enough at
first, since plans
based on notes
that Orville and
Wilbur Wright
left were
available at the
Smithsonian
Institution. When
they were
submitted for a cost estimate,
materials and labor amounted to
nearly $60,000 and completion was
projected in two years.
Stunned but not stopped,
Donald Burns took the problem to
Lawrence Costello, who was
principal of August Martin High
School in Queens, New York.
August Martin is a comprehensive
high school that maintains a
magnet program built around
aerospace. I was August Martin’s
key staff member for a project
such as this. At the time I was the
assistant principal, which included
supervision and career education.
I am a former World War II
pilot, and I have been associated
with aviation and building
airplanes for almost all of my life.
As a teacher I was instrumental in introducing aerospace
to the New York City Board of Education, and now it is
taught in many schools as a regular subject of industrial
arts. I have many designs, patents, and teaching aids to
my credit, and I have participated in many seminars and
demonstrations with my Radio Control airplanes to aid in
furthering aerospace education.
I was asked if I, with the help of other teachers and
students, could build a replica of the Wright brothers’
airplane and have it ready in time for the bicentennial in
July 1976. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a
real aviation enthusiast’s dream come true. Where and
when would I, or anybody, get another opportunity to
build such a magnificent project? Even if it meant working
around the clock night and day, my answer, without
hesitation, was yes, and I presented my plan.
If two teachers could be assigned to the project on a
full-time basis and if a group of August Martin students
could be involved in construction as part of their normal
school programs, I was confident that the project could
be completed on time under my supervision.
However, Port Authority could only afford to pay for
the replacement of one full-time teacher. The project was
on the brink of disaster until I contacted City College and
20 MODEL AVIATION
by Howard Kelem
This haunting
Wright Flyer
replica hangs
from the
ceiling of the
International
Arrivals
Building at the
JFK airport.
S
Replicating
November 2003 21
arranged for student teachers Henry Chu and Larry Chanin
to be assigned to August Martin High School for their
internships and assist with building the Flyer in their free
time.
It seemed that the last obstacle had been overcome, but
it wasn’t all that easy. There was tons of paperwork to do
and miles of red tape to get through before the Board of
Education would approve the project. Special thanks and
appreciation goes to retired New York High School
Superintendent Jack Zach, who worked so hard to get the
endeavor approved when time was of the essence.
On February 4, 1976, the Board of Education approved
the final papers and, with the pledge of cost coverage from
Port Authority to Lawrence Costello, the Kitty Hawk project
was officially off the ground.
Work progressed slowly initially. Teacher and expert
former pattern-maker Martin Muller and the two student
teachers from City College admitted that they had some
doubts about the project’s feasibility, with so much time
consumed by the need to manually construct hundreds of
small parts that were unavailable elsewhere. Their
confidence was restored when the propellers and the
rudder and elevator sections began to take shape.
I set the goal of using the closest materials, design, and
techniques as humanly possible to those that the Wright
brothers employed with the original aircraft. That presented
a serious problem when the need for wing fabric arose.
Howard Kelem shows August Martin High School students a
Wright Flyer Scale model. They helped build the full-scale replica.
Photos courtesy the author
theWright Flyer
Fortunately Martin
Muller had a helpful
friend—a
representative of the
D.H.J. Fabric
Manufacturing
Company—who
supplied the original
fabric that the Wright
brothers used. The
material was hidden
away in some
obscure corner of a
warehouse, and the
company no longer
manufactured it.
The construction
team and I were
amazed to find that
very few wood joints
in the Wrights’
airplane were glued;
they were held
together with metal
straps, wire, screws,
nuts, and bolts. It
seemed foolish at first,
but later I learned that
the brothers’ design
allowed for extreme
flexibility. An individual portion by itself was a delicate,
fragile structure; however, each section supported the other
when joined, resulting in remarkable strength and resilience.
Only one modification had to be made to this replica.
Since construction was done in the woodworking-shop area
of the high school, it had to be designed for easy
disassembly so that each piece would pass through the 7 x 7-
foot doors of the International Arrivals Building at the airport.
Then each piece had to fit together again and be mounted by
cables hanging from the ceiling.
A crucial concern was the ability of the wings to support
the aircraft. Obviously the Wright brothers never intended for
their flying machine to hang suspended and immobile from
steel cables! Doubt was quickly quieted when these
pioneering geniuses’ masterly craftsmanship became
apparent.
When completed by the August Martin team, the wings
were not attached to the Flyer’s body. They not only
supported themselves perfectly well, but they stretched out
as straight as arrows. However, the Smithsonian’s plans for
the original airplane indicated that the wings had a
noticeable curve and were apparently designed to simulate a
bird’s wing. Neither weight nor poor support accounted for
this curve; it was part of the original design.
The team had to cut all of the wires and start the rigging
supports again. This time they were braced to include the 10
inches of negative dihedral. By this point, little doubt
remained that this marvelous machine was much more sturdy
and capable of self-support than it appeared to be.
Almost 14 weeks later the magnificent flying machine was
nearing completion. It was a work of art, yet something
seemed wrong: it looked new. The idea was to build it to
resemble the original, which is now hanging in the
Smithsonian Institution; the once-white fabric has faded to an
almost brown color. The team experimented with many
coloring agents to reproduce the aged fabric, and success
was finally achieved when we used 42 cans of walnut-stain
aerosol spray to cover the entire airplane.
Visitors to the International Arrivals Building invariably
asked the same questions, one of which was “Can that thing
fly?” The answer was a “yes” and a “no.” The display airplane
contains an engine that is simulated from cardboard, wood,
tin, and a variety of bicycle parts. Many are the same pieces
Orville and Wilbur Wright took from their bicycle shop. As it
is constructed now, the replica would not fly.
However, if an adequate power supply were added, it
most certainly would fly since it follows the same tested
theories of flight that led to the original flying machine and
have been improved but never entirely replaced by modern
flying science.
Another common question was, “How did they get it up
there?” The answer—trite perhaps, but accurate—was “Very
carefully!” Passage through the doors was easier than
expected, even though it required 20 men moving with the
precision of surgeons. Assembly took two hours, including a
few lost minutes caused by a broken wing wire. The Port
Authority proceeded to raise the replica to its resting place
with obvious skill and concern.
When it was all over, everyone relaxed, looked up in
awe, and suddenly realized that something was missing:
Orville! Hours away from the dedication ceremony, no one
22 MODEL AVIATION
The simulated engine’s main body was fabricated from 1⁄32-inch
aluminum. Cylinders were made from cardboard tubing. Other
parts were made from wood.
The finished engine looks real. The gears, chains, and sprockets
came from a bicycle shop—just like the original!
Martin Muller puts finishing touches on
the propellers. He was a pattern maker
at Sperry Gyroscope before becoming a
teacher.
had thought to place a reclining flying figure in the Flyer,
as there is in the Smithsonian.
Resolution of that problem reflected the construction
team’s ingenuity. Several quick telephone calls for a figure
that reasonably resembled Orville Wright resulted in a bald
female mannequin that a local department store was willing
to donate to the cause. It was shaped to display the lines of
feminine clothing and did not appear to resemble any kind
of flier.
The team went to work modifying the mannequin as
required. They appropriated a Port Authority worker’s old
uniform and added a pilot’s hat, a pair of goggles, a snip or
two of Henry Chu’s hair for a mustache, and a dab of
makeup here and there. As quickly as that, a mirror image
of the intrepid Orville Wright was strapped onto the
airplane, and the remarkable moment on that eventful
December day in 1903 seemed to occur again.
The replica of the Wright brothers’ flying machine was
on exhibit at John F. Kennedy International Airport for 15
years. Then it was loaned to and displayed at the Cradle of
Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York, until last year
when construction began on a new Cradle of Aviation
Museum sponsored by the Grumman Aircraft Corporation.
The Wright Flyer reproduction has since been moved
and is on display at Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
in Rhinebeck, New York, where it is very much at home
alongside many other famous “antique aircraft” that helped
make aviation history.
Now that the story of its construction has been told, I
hope that those who visit the magnificent model will be
able to see some of the fine detail and expert craftsmanship
evident in its construction. Its magnificence is owed to the
team of teachers and students of August Martin High
School.
At the same time—and no member of the team would
hesitate to say it—the magnificence is the result of the
enormous vision and patience demonstrated by two daring
young men who were so sure that their flying machine
would eventually stay aloft long enough to affirm their
conviction that man could, and would, fly. It is a fitting
tribute to the Wright brothers’ achievement and celebrating
the 100th anniversary of the aerospace industry. MA
Howard Kelem
3405 Ocean Ave.
Rockville Center NY 11572
November 2003 23
The August Martin students embraced this project’s significance.
One is shown installing the rigging.
A donated mannequin was the starting point for a convincing
likeness of Orville Wright, shown at the controls.
The two elevators are identical. They work in tandem and can pivot
as much as 12 inches up and down. These were mounted on the
front of the airplane.
24 MODEL AVIATION
Spinning Tops to Museum volunteers O.C. Stewart and Tom Gurbach built this
rubber-powered Wright biplane from 1991 Ideal Aeroplane Supply
Company plans.
National Model Aviation Museum volunteer Scott Cheslick built
this electric RC Wright Flyer from a Dare Design kit.
Our first interest began when we were children.
Father brought home to us a small toy actuated by a
rubber spring which would lift itself into the air. ‘‘ ‘‘ —From Orville Wright deposition, Regina C. Montgomery
et. al vs. the United States, January 13, 1920
November 2003 25
IT HAS BEEN nearly 100 years since the Wright
brothers made their historic flight on the sand
dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. For the
brothers, the flight was not something that
happened overnight, nor for that matter was it
something they were sure would ever happen at
all. As Orville said to Wilbur following their 1901
tests, “Not within a thousand years would man
ever fly.”
Yet they persevered, and ultimately they took
an idea that had its germination in a small flying
top (the “Bat”) and created a powered, heavierthan-
air, man-carrying aircraft that was capable of
sustained flight.
Today, as we near the anniversary of that first
flight, a host of magazines and books are available
detailing every facet of the Wright brothers’ lives.
Air shows and special events are being held
around the world in honor not only of their
achievements, but of the achievements of all those
who took their own visions and expanded upon
them. The aircraft has literally changed the world,
and it all began with two men in an Ohio bicycle
shop.
But what was it like to fly the Wright Flyer? How
did it feel to squirm your way through the
machine’s wires and finally lie down on the wing?
How confining was it once you did manage to
climb on? What did it feel like to have to
coordinate your hips and your hands to control the
airplane?
For a fortunate few who are participating in the
various attempts to fly full-scale reproductions, this
knowledge will be firsthand. Although possibly
terrifying, the experience transcends time; it did for
Wayne Larsen, who piloted Utah State University’s
reproduction 1905 Flyer over historic Huffman
Prairie, Ohio, on July 5.
“This was an emotional experience for me and
it was a fantastic experience for me,” he told Utah
State Today, a publication of Utah State University.
“We had help in the seats today. It was as though
the Wright brothers were sitting next to me.”
AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum’s
new exhibit “Spinning Tops to Whirling Props,”
which will be on display at least through 2005,
provides the rest of us with an opportunity to
answer these questions for ourselves. A timeline,
with selected photographs from Wright State
University Special Collections in Dayton, Ohio,
by Michael Smith
Above left: Museum Curator Michael
Smith flies a modern Bat. It is available
as a kit from Midwest Products Co.
Above: This drawing accompanied a
letter that Orville Wright sent Bertram
Pond in 1929 detailing the flying top
that Orville and Wilbur received from
their father in 1878.
Photo courtesy National Model Aviation Museum Other photos courtesy the author
Whirling Props
26 MODEL AVIATION
allows visitors to trace the brothers’ achievements.
Their aviation story begins with the Bat: a small flying
top their father gave them in 1878. The museum’s original
drawing of the toy Bat that Orville drew in 1929 and a
reproduction of the Bat that Midwest Products Co. built
allows visitors to see what sparked the Wrights’
imaginations. The remaining images provide a visual record
of their development of the airplane, from kites and hang
gliders to the 1905 Flyer.
The exhibit’s showpiece is the full-scale center-section of
the Wright Flyer III; visitors will actually be able to climb
onto the wing. Although it will be easier than on the
original, it will still be challenging because the new “pilot”
will need to lie down on the wing, slide underneath the
forward wires, and adjust his or her hips in the cradle. Once
in position on the
wing, that person
will be looking
directly at the tail
of a small Scale
model of the 1905
Flyer.
The model will
allow the “pilot” to
visualize exactly
how the original
Flyer responded to
command inputs.
When the hip
cradle is moved,
the model’s wings will warp and the aircraft will roll. As the
lever for the elevator is moved, the canard on the model will
move and the airplane will pitch accordingly. Likewise, if
the rudder lever is moved, the rudder on the model will
move and the airplane will yaw.
Finally, when the fuel-shutoff switch is moved, the
model’s propellers will spin and a recording of an original
Wright engine will be played, courtesy of the Turbine
Engine Division, Propulsion Directorate, United States Air
Force Research Laboratory.
With a bit of imagination, the new “pilot” will be able to
see Huffman Prairie pass below the wings as he or she tries
to complete the world’s first complete circle in the air. The
only thing missing will be the air whistling through the
flying wires.
To show how aeromodelers have tried to duplicate the
Wright Flyer, two models are included in the exhibit. The
first is a reproduction of the Ideal Aeroplane Supply
Company’s Wright biplane. First released in 1911, this
rubber-powered model was guaranteed to fly, but only if
original Ideal parts were used.
The second model is a modern version of the Flyer,
produced by Dare Design & Engineering; this electricpowered
Radio Control version allows anyone to recreate
that first historic flight.
Contrary to Orville’s statement, it took only a few short
years for the Wrights to achieve powered flight. This year as
we celebrate the centennial of their achievement, “Spinning
Tops to Whirling Props” will bring life to the historic
pictures and text documenting that brief moment in
time. MA
The full-scale 1905 Wright Flyer III bottom wing with which
museum visitors can experience what it was like to control a
Wright aircraft.
Close-up highlights hip cradle and footrest on exhibit. From this
vantage point, visitors look directly at tail of small model,
witnessing firsthand how various control inputs affected the
aircraft.
AMA Education Coordinator Jack Frost holds the top wing for
the museum Flyer exhibit.
Courtesy of Pat Tritle, this 2-footwingspan
model has operational
control surfaces, wing warping, and
spinning propellers via a small electric
motor.
They done it! They done it! Darned if they ain’t flew! ‘‘ ‘‘ —From William Tate, “With the Wrights at Kitty Hawk,” The Aeronautical Review (December 1928), 128-132.

November 2003 17

We are at the threshold of 100
years of powered flight. December 17,
2003 will mark the actual date of this
anniversary. We are celebrating that
milestone in this issue of Model Aviation
with this special section dedicated to
the spirit and ingenuity of the pioneers
of aviation and those who love flying.
The realm of aviation means even
more to us as modelers. In a world
where flying is taken so much for
granted, we celebrate it daily. Wilbur
and Orville started their dreams of flight
with a simple flying model, and we
now continue on with that dream. May
we never forget the contributions of the
Wright’s and all of the other dedicated
pioneers who made flying a reality.
Model Aviation Special Section



Contents
Catapult Launching System............Page 18
Replicating the Wright Flyer.......Page 20
Spinning Tops to Whirling Props...Page 24
My View From the Clouds...............Page 27
Lydia Whitehead illustrates the method the Wright
brothers used to launch their aircraft.
Howard Kelem recalls how a team of students and
teachers seized the opportunity of a lifetime.
Michael Smith gives an overview of the National Model
Aviaiton Museum’s exhibit.
Ken Estes provides a fictional diary of significant advances
in aviation.
Centennial
Flight
of 1903-2003


18 MODEL AVIATION
The Catapult Launching System
Preparing for Flight: A line of men pulled on the
rope to raise the weight to the top of the tower.
(See photo at left.) The rope led through a geared
pulley system from the weight, down underneath
the track, around a pulley mounted at the end of
the track, and was hooked to a bar at the center
of the leading edge of the Flyer’s bottom wing.
After starting the engine, the pilot climbed aboard.
Photo courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University
Raising the Weight
Catapult Tower:
The tower, most
likely a salvaged
derrick, was 20
feet high and
held a 1,600-
pound weight on
a rope.
Diagram by Lydia Whitehead
Prepping the Flyer: Using two wheels placed under
each wing, the Wright brothers rolled out the Flyer
and set its front roller on the rail. To place the
carriage on the rail, they lifted the back end of the
aircraft, slid the carriage underneath on the rail, and
set the Flyer skids on the carriage. The Flyer was
then anchored in place by a wire attached to a
stake driven into the ground, preventing the it from
moving once the rope holding the weight was
attached.
When Orville and Wilbur Wright decided to bring their test
flights closer to home and moved from Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, to Huffman Prairie, Ohio, in 1904, they faced a new
problem: getting the Flyer 2 up to flight speed. By their
calculations, the Flyer 2 had to be moving at a speed of at
least 27-28 miles per hour relative to the wind to make a
successful launch. The slower the wind speed, the faster the
airplane needed to move for takeoff.
The Wrights’ solution to this problem involved building a
device to get them up to flying speed: a catapult. They first
tested the system on September 7, 1904, and found that it
was the key to the Flyer’s launching success. Subsequent
Wright Flyers used this same launching system. Below
illustrates step-by-step how the catapult system operated.
1
2
November 2003 19
Takeoff: The pilot released a clip holding
the anchored rope and the weight began
to drop. The resulting force created by
the weight dropping sent the Flyer along
the rail and launched it into the air.
More About the Catapult System

Bicycle-wheel hubs were used for the front
and carriage rollers.

The Wright brothers used a 600-pound
weight during their first attempt with the
catapult system and subsequently increased
the poundage in stages to 1,600.

The length of the track and the size of the
weight varied at times, depending on wind
conditions and other variables.
Sources: www.first-to-fly.org, www.wrightbrothers.
org, Wright State University,
National Model Aviation Museum Curator
Michael Smith, Wilbur and Orville: A
Biography of the Wright Brothers by Fred
Howard, The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of
Wilbur and Orville Wright by Tom Crouch,
Kill Devil Hill by Harry Combs
At Kitty Hawk we had unlimited space
and wind enough to make starting easy
with a short track. If the wind was very
light we could utilize the hills if necessary
in getting the initial velocity. Here we
must depend on a long track, and light
winds or even dead calms.
—Wilbur Wright in a 1904 letter to Octave
Chanute on the conditions at Huffman Prairie ‘‘ ‘‘
Note: The airplane in the diagram above
is based on the 1909 Wright Flyer.
3
ince we are approaching the 100th anniversary of
man’s first successful flight—which took place on
December 17, 1903—the time has come to tell
about the construction of the Wright brothers’
“Kitty Hawk” Flyer replica.
This reproduction was built for The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey honoring our nation’s
bicentennial in 1976 and was hung from the ceiling of the
International Arrivals Building at the John F. Kennedy
International Airport.
Thousands of people pass through the airport each
day. Those who are fortunate enough to have viewed the
airplane hanging in the spot previously occupied by an
Alexander Calder mobile marveled at the workmanship
apparent in this full-scale, accurately detailed replica of
the Wright Brothers’ incredible flying machine. Almost as
incredible is the process that led to the model’s
exhibition.
Just before Christmas in 1975 The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey gave Donald Burns—one of its
top staff members—a task that appeared impossible:
reconstructing an accurate replica of the Wright brothers’
Kitty Hawk airplane.
It seemed
simple enough at
first, since plans
based on notes
that Orville and
Wilbur Wright
left were
available at the
Smithsonian
Institution. When
they were
submitted for a cost estimate,
materials and labor amounted to
nearly $60,000 and completion was
projected in two years.
Stunned but not stopped,
Donald Burns took the problem to
Lawrence Costello, who was
principal of August Martin High
School in Queens, New York.
August Martin is a comprehensive
high school that maintains a
magnet program built around
aerospace. I was August Martin’s
key staff member for a project
such as this. At the time I was the
assistant principal, which included
supervision and career education.
I am a former World War II
pilot, and I have been associated
with aviation and building
airplanes for almost all of my life.
As a teacher I was instrumental in introducing aerospace
to the New York City Board of Education, and now it is
taught in many schools as a regular subject of industrial
arts. I have many designs, patents, and teaching aids to
my credit, and I have participated in many seminars and
demonstrations with my Radio Control airplanes to aid in
furthering aerospace education.
I was asked if I, with the help of other teachers and
students, could build a replica of the Wright brothers’
airplane and have it ready in time for the bicentennial in
July 1976. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a
real aviation enthusiast’s dream come true. Where and
when would I, or anybody, get another opportunity to
build such a magnificent project? Even if it meant working
around the clock night and day, my answer, without
hesitation, was yes, and I presented my plan.
If two teachers could be assigned to the project on a
full-time basis and if a group of August Martin students
could be involved in construction as part of their normal
school programs, I was confident that the project could
be completed on time under my supervision.
However, Port Authority could only afford to pay for
the replacement of one full-time teacher. The project was
on the brink of disaster until I contacted City College and
20 MODEL AVIATION
by Howard Kelem
This haunting
Wright Flyer
replica hangs
from the
ceiling of the
International
Arrivals
Building at the
JFK airport.
S
Replicating
November 2003 21
arranged for student teachers Henry Chu and Larry Chanin
to be assigned to August Martin High School for their
internships and assist with building the Flyer in their free
time.
It seemed that the last obstacle had been overcome, but
it wasn’t all that easy. There was tons of paperwork to do
and miles of red tape to get through before the Board of
Education would approve the project. Special thanks and
appreciation goes to retired New York High School
Superintendent Jack Zach, who worked so hard to get the
endeavor approved when time was of the essence.
On February 4, 1976, the Board of Education approved
the final papers and, with the pledge of cost coverage from
Port Authority to Lawrence Costello, the Kitty Hawk project
was officially off the ground.
Work progressed slowly initially. Teacher and expert
former pattern-maker Martin Muller and the two student
teachers from City College admitted that they had some
doubts about the project’s feasibility, with so much time
consumed by the need to manually construct hundreds of
small parts that were unavailable elsewhere. Their
confidence was restored when the propellers and the
rudder and elevator sections began to take shape.
I set the goal of using the closest materials, design, and
techniques as humanly possible to those that the Wright
brothers employed with the original aircraft. That presented
a serious problem when the need for wing fabric arose.
Howard Kelem shows August Martin High School students a
Wright Flyer Scale model. They helped build the full-scale replica.
Photos courtesy the author
theWright Flyer
Fortunately Martin
Muller had a helpful
friend—a
representative of the
D.H.J. Fabric
Manufacturing
Company—who
supplied the original
fabric that the Wright
brothers used. The
material was hidden
away in some
obscure corner of a
warehouse, and the
company no longer
manufactured it.
The construction
team and I were
amazed to find that
very few wood joints
in the Wrights’
airplane were glued;
they were held
together with metal
straps, wire, screws,
nuts, and bolts. It
seemed foolish at first,
but later I learned that
the brothers’ design
allowed for extreme
flexibility. An individual portion by itself was a delicate,
fragile structure; however, each section supported the other
when joined, resulting in remarkable strength and resilience.
Only one modification had to be made to this replica.
Since construction was done in the woodworking-shop area
of the high school, it had to be designed for easy
disassembly so that each piece would pass through the 7 x 7-
foot doors of the International Arrivals Building at the airport.
Then each piece had to fit together again and be mounted by
cables hanging from the ceiling.
A crucial concern was the ability of the wings to support
the aircraft. Obviously the Wright brothers never intended for
their flying machine to hang suspended and immobile from
steel cables! Doubt was quickly quieted when these
pioneering geniuses’ masterly craftsmanship became
apparent.
When completed by the August Martin team, the wings
were not attached to the Flyer’s body. They not only
supported themselves perfectly well, but they stretched out
as straight as arrows. However, the Smithsonian’s plans for
the original airplane indicated that the wings had a
noticeable curve and were apparently designed to simulate a
bird’s wing. Neither weight nor poor support accounted for
this curve; it was part of the original design.
The team had to cut all of the wires and start the rigging
supports again. This time they were braced to include the 10
inches of negative dihedral. By this point, little doubt
remained that this marvelous machine was much more sturdy
and capable of self-support than it appeared to be.
Almost 14 weeks later the magnificent flying machine was
nearing completion. It was a work of art, yet something
seemed wrong: it looked new. The idea was to build it to
resemble the original, which is now hanging in the
Smithsonian Institution; the once-white fabric has faded to an
almost brown color. The team experimented with many
coloring agents to reproduce the aged fabric, and success
was finally achieved when we used 42 cans of walnut-stain
aerosol spray to cover the entire airplane.
Visitors to the International Arrivals Building invariably
asked the same questions, one of which was “Can that thing
fly?” The answer was a “yes” and a “no.” The display airplane
contains an engine that is simulated from cardboard, wood,
tin, and a variety of bicycle parts. Many are the same pieces
Orville and Wilbur Wright took from their bicycle shop. As it
is constructed now, the replica would not fly.
However, if an adequate power supply were added, it
most certainly would fly since it follows the same tested
theories of flight that led to the original flying machine and
have been improved but never entirely replaced by modern
flying science.
Another common question was, “How did they get it up
there?” The answer—trite perhaps, but accurate—was “Very
carefully!” Passage through the doors was easier than
expected, even though it required 20 men moving with the
precision of surgeons. Assembly took two hours, including a
few lost minutes caused by a broken wing wire. The Port
Authority proceeded to raise the replica to its resting place
with obvious skill and concern.
When it was all over, everyone relaxed, looked up in
awe, and suddenly realized that something was missing:
Orville! Hours away from the dedication ceremony, no one
22 MODEL AVIATION
The simulated engine’s main body was fabricated from 1⁄32-inch
aluminum. Cylinders were made from cardboard tubing. Other
parts were made from wood.
The finished engine looks real. The gears, chains, and sprockets
came from a bicycle shop—just like the original!
Martin Muller puts finishing touches on
the propellers. He was a pattern maker
at Sperry Gyroscope before becoming a
teacher.
had thought to place a reclining flying figure in the Flyer,
as there is in the Smithsonian.
Resolution of that problem reflected the construction
team’s ingenuity. Several quick telephone calls for a figure
that reasonably resembled Orville Wright resulted in a bald
female mannequin that a local department store was willing
to donate to the cause. It was shaped to display the lines of
feminine clothing and did not appear to resemble any kind
of flier.
The team went to work modifying the mannequin as
required. They appropriated a Port Authority worker’s old
uniform and added a pilot’s hat, a pair of goggles, a snip or
two of Henry Chu’s hair for a mustache, and a dab of
makeup here and there. As quickly as that, a mirror image
of the intrepid Orville Wright was strapped onto the
airplane, and the remarkable moment on that eventful
December day in 1903 seemed to occur again.
The replica of the Wright brothers’ flying machine was
on exhibit at John F. Kennedy International Airport for 15
years. Then it was loaned to and displayed at the Cradle of
Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York, until last year
when construction began on a new Cradle of Aviation
Museum sponsored by the Grumman Aircraft Corporation.
The Wright Flyer reproduction has since been moved
and is on display at Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
in Rhinebeck, New York, where it is very much at home
alongside many other famous “antique aircraft” that helped
make aviation history.
Now that the story of its construction has been told, I
hope that those who visit the magnificent model will be
able to see some of the fine detail and expert craftsmanship
evident in its construction. Its magnificence is owed to the
team of teachers and students of August Martin High
School.
At the same time—and no member of the team would
hesitate to say it—the magnificence is the result of the
enormous vision and patience demonstrated by two daring
young men who were so sure that their flying machine
would eventually stay aloft long enough to affirm their
conviction that man could, and would, fly. It is a fitting
tribute to the Wright brothers’ achievement and celebrating
the 100th anniversary of the aerospace industry. MA
Howard Kelem
3405 Ocean Ave.
Rockville Center NY 11572
November 2003 23
The August Martin students embraced this project’s significance.
One is shown installing the rigging.
A donated mannequin was the starting point for a convincing
likeness of Orville Wright, shown at the controls.
The two elevators are identical. They work in tandem and can pivot
as much as 12 inches up and down. These were mounted on the
front of the airplane.
24 MODEL AVIATION
Spinning Tops to Museum volunteers O.C. Stewart and Tom Gurbach built this
rubber-powered Wright biplane from 1991 Ideal Aeroplane Supply
Company plans.
National Model Aviation Museum volunteer Scott Cheslick built
this electric RC Wright Flyer from a Dare Design kit.
Our first interest began when we were children.
Father brought home to us a small toy actuated by a
rubber spring which would lift itself into the air. ‘‘ ‘‘ —From Orville Wright deposition, Regina C. Montgomery
et. al vs. the United States, January 13, 1920
November 2003 25
IT HAS BEEN nearly 100 years since the Wright
brothers made their historic flight on the sand
dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. For the
brothers, the flight was not something that
happened overnight, nor for that matter was it
something they were sure would ever happen at
all. As Orville said to Wilbur following their 1901
tests, “Not within a thousand years would man
ever fly.”
Yet they persevered, and ultimately they took
an idea that had its germination in a small flying
top (the “Bat”) and created a powered, heavierthan-
air, man-carrying aircraft that was capable of
sustained flight.
Today, as we near the anniversary of that first
flight, a host of magazines and books are available
detailing every facet of the Wright brothers’ lives.
Air shows and special events are being held
around the world in honor not only of their
achievements, but of the achievements of all those
who took their own visions and expanded upon
them. The aircraft has literally changed the world,
and it all began with two men in an Ohio bicycle
shop.
But what was it like to fly the Wright Flyer? How
did it feel to squirm your way through the
machine’s wires and finally lie down on the wing?
How confining was it once you did manage to
climb on? What did it feel like to have to
coordinate your hips and your hands to control the
airplane?
For a fortunate few who are participating in the
various attempts to fly full-scale reproductions, this
knowledge will be firsthand. Although possibly
terrifying, the experience transcends time; it did for
Wayne Larsen, who piloted Utah State University’s
reproduction 1905 Flyer over historic Huffman
Prairie, Ohio, on July 5.
“This was an emotional experience for me and
it was a fantastic experience for me,” he told Utah
State Today, a publication of Utah State University.
“We had help in the seats today. It was as though
the Wright brothers were sitting next to me.”
AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum’s
new exhibit “Spinning Tops to Whirling Props,”
which will be on display at least through 2005,
provides the rest of us with an opportunity to
answer these questions for ourselves. A timeline,
with selected photographs from Wright State
University Special Collections in Dayton, Ohio,
by Michael Smith
Above left: Museum Curator Michael
Smith flies a modern Bat. It is available
as a kit from Midwest Products Co.
Above: This drawing accompanied a
letter that Orville Wright sent Bertram
Pond in 1929 detailing the flying top
that Orville and Wilbur received from
their father in 1878.
Photo courtesy National Model Aviation Museum Other photos courtesy the author
Whirling Props
26 MODEL AVIATION
allows visitors to trace the brothers’ achievements.
Their aviation story begins with the Bat: a small flying
top their father gave them in 1878. The museum’s original
drawing of the toy Bat that Orville drew in 1929 and a
reproduction of the Bat that Midwest Products Co. built
allows visitors to see what sparked the Wrights’
imaginations. The remaining images provide a visual record
of their development of the airplane, from kites and hang
gliders to the 1905 Flyer.
The exhibit’s showpiece is the full-scale center-section of
the Wright Flyer III; visitors will actually be able to climb
onto the wing. Although it will be easier than on the
original, it will still be challenging because the new “pilot”
will need to lie down on the wing, slide underneath the
forward wires, and adjust his or her hips in the cradle. Once
in position on the
wing, that person
will be looking
directly at the tail
of a small Scale
model of the 1905
Flyer.
The model will
allow the “pilot” to
visualize exactly
how the original
Flyer responded to
command inputs.
When the hip
cradle is moved,
the model’s wings will warp and the aircraft will roll. As the
lever for the elevator is moved, the canard on the model will
move and the airplane will pitch accordingly. Likewise, if
the rudder lever is moved, the rudder on the model will
move and the airplane will yaw.
Finally, when the fuel-shutoff switch is moved, the
model’s propellers will spin and a recording of an original
Wright engine will be played, courtesy of the Turbine
Engine Division, Propulsion Directorate, United States Air
Force Research Laboratory.
With a bit of imagination, the new “pilot” will be able to
see Huffman Prairie pass below the wings as he or she tries
to complete the world’s first complete circle in the air. The
only thing missing will be the air whistling through the
flying wires.
To show how aeromodelers have tried to duplicate the
Wright Flyer, two models are included in the exhibit. The
first is a reproduction of the Ideal Aeroplane Supply
Company’s Wright biplane. First released in 1911, this
rubber-powered model was guaranteed to fly, but only if
original Ideal parts were used.
The second model is a modern version of the Flyer,
produced by Dare Design & Engineering; this electricpowered
Radio Control version allows anyone to recreate
that first historic flight.
Contrary to Orville’s statement, it took only a few short
years for the Wrights to achieve powered flight. This year as
we celebrate the centennial of their achievement, “Spinning
Tops to Whirling Props” will bring life to the historic
pictures and text documenting that brief moment in
time. MA
The full-scale 1905 Wright Flyer III bottom wing with which
museum visitors can experience what it was like to control a
Wright aircraft.
Close-up highlights hip cradle and footrest on exhibit. From this
vantage point, visitors look directly at tail of small model,
witnessing firsthand how various control inputs affected the
aircraft.
AMA Education Coordinator Jack Frost holds the top wing for
the museum Flyer exhibit.
Courtesy of Pat Tritle, this 2-footwingspan
model has operational
control surfaces, wing warping, and
spinning propellers via a small electric
motor.
They done it! They done it! Darned if they ain’t flew! ‘‘ ‘‘ —From William Tate, “With the Wrights at Kitty Hawk,” The Aeronautical Review (December 1928), 128-132.

November 2003 17

We are at the threshold of 100
years of powered flight. December 17,
2003 will mark the actual date of this
anniversary. We are celebrating that
milestone in this issue of Model Aviation
with this special section dedicated to
the spirit and ingenuity of the pioneers
of aviation and those who love flying.
The realm of aviation means even
more to us as modelers. In a world
where flying is taken so much for
granted, we celebrate it daily. Wilbur
and Orville started their dreams of flight
with a simple flying model, and we
now continue on with that dream. May
we never forget the contributions of the
Wright’s and all of the other dedicated
pioneers who made flying a reality.
Model Aviation Special Section



Contents
Catapult Launching System............Page 18
Replicating the Wright Flyer.......Page 20
Spinning Tops to Whirling Props...Page 24
My View From the Clouds...............Page 27
Lydia Whitehead illustrates the method the Wright
brothers used to launch their aircraft.
Howard Kelem recalls how a team of students and
teachers seized the opportunity of a lifetime.
Michael Smith gives an overview of the National Model
Aviaiton Museum’s exhibit.
Ken Estes provides a fictional diary of significant advances
in aviation.
Centennial
Flight
of 1903-2003


18 MODEL AVIATION
The Catapult Launching System
Preparing for Flight: A line of men pulled on the
rope to raise the weight to the top of the tower.
(See photo at left.) The rope led through a geared
pulley system from the weight, down underneath
the track, around a pulley mounted at the end of
the track, and was hooked to a bar at the center
of the leading edge of the Flyer’s bottom wing.
After starting the engine, the pilot climbed aboard.
Photo courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University
Raising the Weight
Catapult Tower:
The tower, most
likely a salvaged
derrick, was 20
feet high and
held a 1,600-
pound weight on
a rope.
Diagram by Lydia Whitehead
Prepping the Flyer: Using two wheels placed under
each wing, the Wright brothers rolled out the Flyer
and set its front roller on the rail. To place the
carriage on the rail, they lifted the back end of the
aircraft, slid the carriage underneath on the rail, and
set the Flyer skids on the carriage. The Flyer was
then anchored in place by a wire attached to a
stake driven into the ground, preventing the it from
moving once the rope holding the weight was
attached.
When Orville and Wilbur Wright decided to bring their test
flights closer to home and moved from Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, to Huffman Prairie, Ohio, in 1904, they faced a new
problem: getting the Flyer 2 up to flight speed. By their
calculations, the Flyer 2 had to be moving at a speed of at
least 27-28 miles per hour relative to the wind to make a
successful launch. The slower the wind speed, the faster the
airplane needed to move for takeoff.
The Wrights’ solution to this problem involved building a
device to get them up to flying speed: a catapult. They first
tested the system on September 7, 1904, and found that it
was the key to the Flyer’s launching success. Subsequent
Wright Flyers used this same launching system. Below
illustrates step-by-step how the catapult system operated.
1
2
November 2003 19
Takeoff: The pilot released a clip holding
the anchored rope and the weight began
to drop. The resulting force created by
the weight dropping sent the Flyer along
the rail and launched it into the air.
More About the Catapult System

Bicycle-wheel hubs were used for the front
and carriage rollers.

The Wright brothers used a 600-pound
weight during their first attempt with the
catapult system and subsequently increased
the poundage in stages to 1,600.

The length of the track and the size of the
weight varied at times, depending on wind
conditions and other variables.
Sources: www.first-to-fly.org, www.wrightbrothers.
org, Wright State University,
National Model Aviation Museum Curator
Michael Smith, Wilbur and Orville: A
Biography of the Wright Brothers by Fred
Howard, The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of
Wilbur and Orville Wright by Tom Crouch,
Kill Devil Hill by Harry Combs
At Kitty Hawk we had unlimited space
and wind enough to make starting easy
with a short track. If the wind was very
light we could utilize the hills if necessary
in getting the initial velocity. Here we
must depend on a long track, and light
winds or even dead calms.
—Wilbur Wright in a 1904 letter to Octave
Chanute on the conditions at Huffman Prairie ‘‘ ‘‘
Note: The airplane in the diagram above
is based on the 1909 Wright Flyer.
3
ince we are approaching the 100th anniversary of
man’s first successful flight—which took place on
December 17, 1903—the time has come to tell
about the construction of the Wright brothers’
“Kitty Hawk” Flyer replica.
This reproduction was built for The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey honoring our nation’s
bicentennial in 1976 and was hung from the ceiling of the
International Arrivals Building at the John F. Kennedy
International Airport.
Thousands of people pass through the airport each
day. Those who are fortunate enough to have viewed the
airplane hanging in the spot previously occupied by an
Alexander Calder mobile marveled at the workmanship
apparent in this full-scale, accurately detailed replica of
the Wright Brothers’ incredible flying machine. Almost as
incredible is the process that led to the model’s
exhibition.
Just before Christmas in 1975 The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey gave Donald Burns—one of its
top staff members—a task that appeared impossible:
reconstructing an accurate replica of the Wright brothers’
Kitty Hawk airplane.
It seemed
simple enough at
first, since plans
based on notes
that Orville and
Wilbur Wright
left were
available at the
Smithsonian
Institution. When
they were
submitted for a cost estimate,
materials and labor amounted to
nearly $60,000 and completion was
projected in two years.
Stunned but not stopped,
Donald Burns took the problem to
Lawrence Costello, who was
principal of August Martin High
School in Queens, New York.
August Martin is a comprehensive
high school that maintains a
magnet program built around
aerospace. I was August Martin’s
key staff member for a project
such as this. At the time I was the
assistant principal, which included
supervision and career education.
I am a former World War II
pilot, and I have been associated
with aviation and building
airplanes for almost all of my life.
As a teacher I was instrumental in introducing aerospace
to the New York City Board of Education, and now it is
taught in many schools as a regular subject of industrial
arts. I have many designs, patents, and teaching aids to
my credit, and I have participated in many seminars and
demonstrations with my Radio Control airplanes to aid in
furthering aerospace education.
I was asked if I, with the help of other teachers and
students, could build a replica of the Wright brothers’
airplane and have it ready in time for the bicentennial in
July 1976. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a
real aviation enthusiast’s dream come true. Where and
when would I, or anybody, get another opportunity to
build such a magnificent project? Even if it meant working
around the clock night and day, my answer, without
hesitation, was yes, and I presented my plan.
If two teachers could be assigned to the project on a
full-time basis and if a group of August Martin students
could be involved in construction as part of their normal
school programs, I was confident that the project could
be completed on time under my supervision.
However, Port Authority could only afford to pay for
the replacement of one full-time teacher. The project was
on the brink of disaster until I contacted City College and
20 MODEL AVIATION
by Howard Kelem
This haunting
Wright Flyer
replica hangs
from the
ceiling of the
International
Arrivals
Building at the
JFK airport.
S
Replicating
November 2003 21
arranged for student teachers Henry Chu and Larry Chanin
to be assigned to August Martin High School for their
internships and assist with building the Flyer in their free
time.
It seemed that the last obstacle had been overcome, but
it wasn’t all that easy. There was tons of paperwork to do
and miles of red tape to get through before the Board of
Education would approve the project. Special thanks and
appreciation goes to retired New York High School
Superintendent Jack Zach, who worked so hard to get the
endeavor approved when time was of the essence.
On February 4, 1976, the Board of Education approved
the final papers and, with the pledge of cost coverage from
Port Authority to Lawrence Costello, the Kitty Hawk project
was officially off the ground.
Work progressed slowly initially. Teacher and expert
former pattern-maker Martin Muller and the two student
teachers from City College admitted that they had some
doubts about the project’s feasibility, with so much time
consumed by the need to manually construct hundreds of
small parts that were unavailable elsewhere. Their
confidence was restored when the propellers and the
rudder and elevator sections began to take shape.
I set the goal of using the closest materials, design, and
techniques as humanly possible to those that the Wright
brothers employed with the original aircraft. That presented
a serious problem when the need for wing fabric arose.
Howard Kelem shows August Martin High School students a
Wright Flyer Scale model. They helped build the full-scale replica.
Photos courtesy the author
theWright Flyer
Fortunately Martin
Muller had a helpful
friend—a
representative of the
D.H.J. Fabric
Manufacturing
Company—who
supplied the original
fabric that the Wright
brothers used. The
material was hidden
away in some
obscure corner of a
warehouse, and the
company no longer
manufactured it.
The construction
team and I were
amazed to find that
very few wood joints
in the Wrights’
airplane were glued;
they were held
together with metal
straps, wire, screws,
nuts, and bolts. It
seemed foolish at first,
but later I learned that
the brothers’ design
allowed for extreme
flexibility. An individual portion by itself was a delicate,
fragile structure; however, each section supported the other
when joined, resulting in remarkable strength and resilience.
Only one modification had to be made to this replica.
Since construction was done in the woodworking-shop area
of the high school, it had to be designed for easy
disassembly so that each piece would pass through the 7 x 7-
foot doors of the International Arrivals Building at the airport.
Then each piece had to fit together again and be mounted by
cables hanging from the ceiling.
A crucial concern was the ability of the wings to support
the aircraft. Obviously the Wright brothers never intended for
their flying machine to hang suspended and immobile from
steel cables! Doubt was quickly quieted when these
pioneering geniuses’ masterly craftsmanship became
apparent.
When completed by the August Martin team, the wings
were not attached to the Flyer’s body. They not only
supported themselves perfectly well, but they stretched out
as straight as arrows. However, the Smithsonian’s plans for
the original airplane indicated that the wings had a
noticeable curve and were apparently designed to simulate a
bird’s wing. Neither weight nor poor support accounted for
this curve; it was part of the original design.
The team had to cut all of the wires and start the rigging
supports again. This time they were braced to include the 10
inches of negative dihedral. By this point, little doubt
remained that this marvelous machine was much more sturdy
and capable of self-support than it appeared to be.
Almost 14 weeks later the magnificent flying machine was
nearing completion. It was a work of art, yet something
seemed wrong: it looked new. The idea was to build it to
resemble the original, which is now hanging in the
Smithsonian Institution; the once-white fabric has faded to an
almost brown color. The team experimented with many
coloring agents to reproduce the aged fabric, and success
was finally achieved when we used 42 cans of walnut-stain
aerosol spray to cover the entire airplane.
Visitors to the International Arrivals Building invariably
asked the same questions, one of which was “Can that thing
fly?” The answer was a “yes” and a “no.” The display airplane
contains an engine that is simulated from cardboard, wood,
tin, and a variety of bicycle parts. Many are the same pieces
Orville and Wilbur Wright took from their bicycle shop. As it
is constructed now, the replica would not fly.
However, if an adequate power supply were added, it
most certainly would fly since it follows the same tested
theories of flight that led to the original flying machine and
have been improved but never entirely replaced by modern
flying science.
Another common question was, “How did they get it up
there?” The answer—trite perhaps, but accurate—was “Very
carefully!” Passage through the doors was easier than
expected, even though it required 20 men moving with the
precision of surgeons. Assembly took two hours, including a
few lost minutes caused by a broken wing wire. The Port
Authority proceeded to raise the replica to its resting place
with obvious skill and concern.
When it was all over, everyone relaxed, looked up in
awe, and suddenly realized that something was missing:
Orville! Hours away from the dedication ceremony, no one
22 MODEL AVIATION
The simulated engine’s main body was fabricated from 1⁄32-inch
aluminum. Cylinders were made from cardboard tubing. Other
parts were made from wood.
The finished engine looks real. The gears, chains, and sprockets
came from a bicycle shop—just like the original!
Martin Muller puts finishing touches on
the propellers. He was a pattern maker
at Sperry Gyroscope before becoming a
teacher.
had thought to place a reclining flying figure in the Flyer,
as there is in the Smithsonian.
Resolution of that problem reflected the construction
team’s ingenuity. Several quick telephone calls for a figure
that reasonably resembled Orville Wright resulted in a bald
female mannequin that a local department store was willing
to donate to the cause. It was shaped to display the lines of
feminine clothing and did not appear to resemble any kind
of flier.
The team went to work modifying the mannequin as
required. They appropriated a Port Authority worker’s old
uniform and added a pilot’s hat, a pair of goggles, a snip or
two of Henry Chu’s hair for a mustache, and a dab of
makeup here and there. As quickly as that, a mirror image
of the intrepid Orville Wright was strapped onto the
airplane, and the remarkable moment on that eventful
December day in 1903 seemed to occur again.
The replica of the Wright brothers’ flying machine was
on exhibit at John F. Kennedy International Airport for 15
years. Then it was loaned to and displayed at the Cradle of
Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York, until last year
when construction began on a new Cradle of Aviation
Museum sponsored by the Grumman Aircraft Corporation.
The Wright Flyer reproduction has since been moved
and is on display at Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
in Rhinebeck, New York, where it is very much at home
alongside many other famous “antique aircraft” that helped
make aviation history.
Now that the story of its construction has been told, I
hope that those who visit the magnificent model will be
able to see some of the fine detail and expert craftsmanship
evident in its construction. Its magnificence is owed to the
team of teachers and students of August Martin High
School.
At the same time—and no member of the team would
hesitate to say it—the magnificence is the result of the
enormous vision and patience demonstrated by two daring
young men who were so sure that their flying machine
would eventually stay aloft long enough to affirm their
conviction that man could, and would, fly. It is a fitting
tribute to the Wright brothers’ achievement and celebrating
the 100th anniversary of the aerospace industry. MA
Howard Kelem
3405 Ocean Ave.
Rockville Center NY 11572
November 2003 23
The August Martin students embraced this project’s significance.
One is shown installing the rigging.
A donated mannequin was the starting point for a convincing
likeness of Orville Wright, shown at the controls.
The two elevators are identical. They work in tandem and can pivot
as much as 12 inches up and down. These were mounted on the
front of the airplane.
24 MODEL AVIATION
Spinning Tops to Museum volunteers O.C. Stewart and Tom Gurbach built this
rubber-powered Wright biplane from 1991 Ideal Aeroplane Supply
Company plans.
National Model Aviation Museum volunteer Scott Cheslick built
this electric RC Wright Flyer from a Dare Design kit.
Our first interest began when we were children.
Father brought home to us a small toy actuated by a
rubber spring which would lift itself into the air. ‘‘ ‘‘ —From Orville Wright deposition, Regina C. Montgomery
et. al vs. the United States, January 13, 1920
November 2003 25
IT HAS BEEN nearly 100 years since the Wright
brothers made their historic flight on the sand
dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. For the
brothers, the flight was not something that
happened overnight, nor for that matter was it
something they were sure would ever happen at
all. As Orville said to Wilbur following their 1901
tests, “Not within a thousand years would man
ever fly.”
Yet they persevered, and ultimately they took
an idea that had its germination in a small flying
top (the “Bat”) and created a powered, heavierthan-
air, man-carrying aircraft that was capable of
sustained flight.
Today, as we near the anniversary of that first
flight, a host of magazines and books are available
detailing every facet of the Wright brothers’ lives.
Air shows and special events are being held
around the world in honor not only of their
achievements, but of the achievements of all those
who took their own visions and expanded upon
them. The aircraft has literally changed the world,
and it all began with two men in an Ohio bicycle
shop.
But what was it like to fly the Wright Flyer? How
did it feel to squirm your way through the
machine’s wires and finally lie down on the wing?
How confining was it once you did manage to
climb on? What did it feel like to have to
coordinate your hips and your hands to control the
airplane?
For a fortunate few who are participating in the
various attempts to fly full-scale reproductions, this
knowledge will be firsthand. Although possibly
terrifying, the experience transcends time; it did for
Wayne Larsen, who piloted Utah State University’s
reproduction 1905 Flyer over historic Huffman
Prairie, Ohio, on July 5.
“This was an emotional experience for me and
it was a fantastic experience for me,” he told Utah
State Today, a publication of Utah State University.
“We had help in the seats today. It was as though
the Wright brothers were sitting next to me.”
AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum’s
new exhibit “Spinning Tops to Whirling Props,”
which will be on display at least through 2005,
provides the rest of us with an opportunity to
answer these questions for ourselves. A timeline,
with selected photographs from Wright State
University Special Collections in Dayton, Ohio,
by Michael Smith
Above left: Museum Curator Michael
Smith flies a modern Bat. It is available
as a kit from Midwest Products Co.
Above: This drawing accompanied a
letter that Orville Wright sent Bertram
Pond in 1929 detailing the flying top
that Orville and Wilbur received from
their father in 1878.
Photo courtesy National Model Aviation Museum Other photos courtesy the author
Whirling Props
26 MODEL AVIATION
allows visitors to trace the brothers’ achievements.
Their aviation story begins with the Bat: a small flying
top their father gave them in 1878. The museum’s original
drawing of the toy Bat that Orville drew in 1929 and a
reproduction of the Bat that Midwest Products Co. built
allows visitors to see what sparked the Wrights’
imaginations. The remaining images provide a visual record
of their development of the airplane, from kites and hang
gliders to the 1905 Flyer.
The exhibit’s showpiece is the full-scale center-section of
the Wright Flyer III; visitors will actually be able to climb
onto the wing. Although it will be easier than on the
original, it will still be challenging because the new “pilot”
will need to lie down on the wing, slide underneath the
forward wires, and adjust his or her hips in the cradle. Once
in position on the
wing, that person
will be looking
directly at the tail
of a small Scale
model of the 1905
Flyer.
The model will
allow the “pilot” to
visualize exactly
how the original
Flyer responded to
command inputs.
When the hip
cradle is moved,
the model’s wings will warp and the aircraft will roll. As the
lever for the elevator is moved, the canard on the model will
move and the airplane will pitch accordingly. Likewise, if
the rudder lever is moved, the rudder on the model will
move and the airplane will yaw.
Finally, when the fuel-shutoff switch is moved, the
model’s propellers will spin and a recording of an original
Wright engine will be played, courtesy of the Turbine
Engine Division, Propulsion Directorate, United States Air
Force Research Laboratory.
With a bit of imagination, the new “pilot” will be able to
see Huffman Prairie pass below the wings as he or she tries
to complete the world’s first complete circle in the air. The
only thing missing will be the air whistling through the
flying wires.
To show how aeromodelers have tried to duplicate the
Wright Flyer, two models are included in the exhibit. The
first is a reproduction of the Ideal Aeroplane Supply
Company’s Wright biplane. First released in 1911, this
rubber-powered model was guaranteed to fly, but only if
original Ideal parts were used.
The second model is a modern version of the Flyer,
produced by Dare Design & Engineering; this electricpowered
Radio Control version allows anyone to recreate
that first historic flight.
Contrary to Orville’s statement, it took only a few short
years for the Wrights to achieve powered flight. This year as
we celebrate the centennial of their achievement, “Spinning
Tops to Whirling Props” will bring life to the historic
pictures and text documenting that brief moment in
time. MA
The full-scale 1905 Wright Flyer III bottom wing with which
museum visitors can experience what it was like to control a
Wright aircraft.
Close-up highlights hip cradle and footrest on exhibit. From this
vantage point, visitors look directly at tail of small model,
witnessing firsthand how various control inputs affected the
aircraft.
AMA Education Coordinator Jack Frost holds the top wing for
the museum Flyer exhibit.
Courtesy of Pat Tritle, this 2-footwingspan
model has operational
control surfaces, wing warping, and
spinning propellers via a small electric
motor.
They done it! They done it! Darned if they ain’t flew! ‘‘ ‘‘ —From William Tate, “With the Wrights at Kitty Hawk,” The Aeronautical Review (December 1928), 128-132.