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In 100 years, the Wright Flyer has come a long way

By N. Gopal Raj

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Dec. 16. Tomorrow, a hundred years to the day and at the very same hour, weather permitting, a replica of the "Wright Flyer" will take to the skies at Kitty Hawk on the Atlantic coast of the United States to mark the occasion when the original aircraft created history with the first powered flight. In the century since then, human beings have flown faster than sound, built aircraft capable of carrying hundreds of people, travelled to the moon and established manned outposts in space.

In 1900, Wilbur and Orville Wright tested their first glider at Kitty Hawk, which they chose for its steady winds and vast sand dunes. They flew two more gliders in as many years to improve their design and better their piloting skills before building a powered aircraft. Like the gliders, the Flyer used wooden struts, covered with cloth and strengthened with steel wires. Unable to find a petrol-powered engine that would meet their specifications, the Wright brothers designed and built their own engine of aluminium. The Flyer had a wingspan of just 12 metres, was 6.4 metres long, and weighed just 340 kg (including the pilot).

On the first attempt to fly the aircraft on December 14, with Wilbur Wright at the controls, the Flyer lurched up, stalled and landed with a thud on the sand. After the damage was repaired, on the morning of December 17. Orville Wright took his place, lying prone on the lower wing. This time, the Flyer lifted off, remained airborne for 12 seconds, and flew a mere 36 metres. But three flights later the same day, Wilbur was able to remain aloft for nearly a minute and travel 260 metres. The aeroplane was born.

Creating a flightworthy replica of the Flyer has required extensive tests in a modern wind-tunnel facility at NASA's Langley Research Centre. A team of Wright enthusiasts painstakingly worked for years, recreating propellers, gliders and the aircraft to understand how the brothers achieved powered flight. A NASA press release quotes Ken Hyde, founder of Wright Experience, as saying that the team had been carrying out this research over the past decade and that it had taken three years to build a flightworthy replica of the Flyer.

Another team from the Utah State University, U.S. have created a futuristic version of the Flyer, using the latest materials and technology. Kevlar and graphite of the sort used in advanced aircraft and space vehicles replaced the original muslin and wood. A Harley-Davidson twin-cam engine provided the power. The Utah State's Flyer has flown about 300 times since its first flight in March this year.

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