Wright Stuff at the AMA Museum
by Liz Helms and Sarah Greiner
The exhibit
The National Model Aviation Museum’s premier exhibit, "Spinning Tops to Whirling Props," opened December 17, 2003. The display features a 1905 Wright Flyer re-creation that Museum Curator Michael Smith and AMA Education Coordinator Jack Frost built.
The centerpiece of the exhibit — a section of the Flyer, scaled down slightly to fit the available space — is hands-on. The wing is designed so visitors can lie on it and operate the rudder, the elevator (which the Wrights referred to as the "front rudder"), and the hip cradle that controls the wing warping, just as the Wright brothers did nearly 100 years ago.
Unique to the display is the Remotely-Controlled Airplane Simulator (RCAD) positioned between the wing and the canard. "Other simulators have a computer-generated screen," said Michael. "We felt that limited the visitor's experience. With this, visitors can see how their movements affect the aircraft by looking at the RCAD."
Although the replica was scaled down to fit the available space, tape marks the full, actual dimensions so visitors can get a feel for the airplane.
Building the replica
Michael conceived the idea for the Wright Flyer exhibit and Jack provided the mechanical know-how. "We started it, and as we went, more ideas came," Michael said. "Wouldn't it be neat if we could add an engine beside the hip cradle? Wouldn't it be cool if we could add sound to the engine?"
Initially the pair thought the project would take a couple of months to complete. As it turned out, they were off by roughly eight months. "Six months of engineering and three months of building because we were building with trial and error—kind of like the Wright brothers must have done," Jack said. "The difference was that they were building the airplane to fly; we were just building it strongly and safely enough for 2,000 kids to climb around on. Building it to fly might have actually been easier."
Not wanting to turn the museum into a construction zone, they built the Wright Flyer in Jack's nearby workshop. They fabricated the exhibit in sections so it could be disassembled, transported, and reassembled in the museum. Many pieces, including the struts between the wings, were painted silver so they would photograph poorly and help protect the Wrights' patent.
The building, rebuilding, designing, and redesigning had to be fitted around an already-busy schedule of museum programs and education conferences. Nine long months later, often working into the night and on weekends, Jack and Michael completed the Wright Flyer. All that remained was to carefully take it apart, label the parts as they went, drive each piece to the museum, and reconstruct it in the same order. Reassembling the aircraft section went quickly; it was complete within two days.
"The Wright brothers used to argue points," Jack explained. "One day they actually got into a heated argument, closed up the shop, and went home. The next day they came in, apologized to each other, and began arguing each other's side of the debate. Well, that's not how it was with Michael and me," he said jokingly. "Much as I don't want to swell his head, I can't imagine doing this project with anyone easier to work with."
Opening and reception
The exhibit's opening was planned in conjunction with the Centennial of Flight; local educators and press were invited to attend. In addition to many AMA staff members, AMA President Dave Brown and District X Vice President Rich Hanson were present.
"Spinning Tops to Whirling Props" will remain on display in the National Model Aviation Museum through December 2005.
Liz Helms and Sarah Greiner
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
