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Replica of Wright 1902 Aircraft
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Glenn
Research
Center
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The scientists and engineers of tomorrow are working
to retrace the steps of the Wright Brothers.
A half scale replica of the Wright's 1902 aircraft is being built
at the Orono Middle School of Orono, Maine.
The aircraft is to be used as a traveling exhibit, an educational tool,
and eventually as a fixed exhibit at the NASA Glenn Visitor Information Center.
In 2003, the world will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first flight
of the Wright Brothers'
airplane.
In reality, the brothers had been flying
and learning to fly for several years before. Between 1900
and 1902 the brothers visited Kitty Hawk with a succession
of manned
gliders
which were often flown as
kites
to determine their aerodynamic characteristics.
These efforts culminated in the
1902 aircraft
which was the first aircraft in the world to have
active
control
about all three axes.
Here's a picture taken in 1902 of the aircraft in flight.
The brothers completed hundreds of successful glides with
this aircraft.
During the winter of 2002, the 6th grade science students at Orono Middle School,
built small scale models of the Wright's 1902 aircraft which can be
flown.
Led by their teacher, Richard Glueck, the students studied drawings
of the original aircraft, developed scale plans, shaped the
wing ribs, struts, and control surfaces, performed final construction
and then test flew their models. A
gallery
of photos of this
activity has been prepared.
In the spring of 2002, work has begun on building a half scale
replica of the 1902 with construction techniques similar to the
1900 replica.
Here is a picture of students connecting the ribs to the front spar.
And here is another picture of students attaching the skin to the ribs.
The skin is hand-sown by the students in a real team effort.
The aircraft is beginning to take shape as shown in this recent photo:
And, finally, here are three photographs of the students at Orono who built this
half scale replica:
Navigation..
- Re-Living the Wright Way
- Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics
- NASA Home Page
- http://www.nasa.gov
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