{"id":18422,"date":"2021-05-14T11:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=18422"},"modified":"2021-05-14T11:33:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T11:33:56","slug":"first-flight-foundation-commissions-wright-1908-airplane-for-nc-museum-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/north-carolina\/first-flight-foundation-commissions-wright-1908-airplane-for-nc-museum-of-history\/%20","title":{"rendered":"First Flight Foundation Commissions Wright 1908 Airplane for NC Museum of History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gift Honors North Carolina\u2019s First Director of Aviation <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina not only has the distinction for the\nworld\u2019s first powered flight, but also stakes claim to America\u2019s first\npassenger flight, May 14, 1908.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1908<\/em> chapter of the North Carolina-Wright story is finally being told thanks to the continued partnership of the First Flight Foundation and the North Carolina Museum of History. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full-scale reproduction Wright 1908 airplane is currently\nunder construction and slated for a fall 2022 installation in the museum.  The Wright 1908 aircraft will join the museum\u2019s\nreproductions of the Wright 1903 airplane and the Wright 1902 and Wright 1911\ngliders.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North Carolina Museum of History owns the Wright 1903\nand Wright 1911 aircraft; the Wright 1902 is on extended loan from the National\nPark Service, Wright Brothers National Memorial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Flight Foundation (hereafter, Foundation) is\nfunding and gifting the Wright 1908 airplane to the state via the North\nCarolina Museum of History (hereafter, Museum) in honor of Willard (Will)\nGathings Plentl, Jr. (Lt. Col. Retired Air Force), the first director of North\nCarolina Aviation and immediate former president of the First Flight\nFoundation. Plentl began his eternal soar with the eagles, March of 2019.  Ann Plentl, his beloved wife, joins the\nFoundation in this announcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Above is a reproduction Wright motor designed by Rick Young and built by the Hal Chaffee of Model Builders Inc. of Chicago, Illinois. The aircraft is being built by Rick and Sue Young of Chester, VA.   <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Wright 1908 airplane and the 1908 Kitty Hawk test\nflights continued engineering development and the science of flight, and\nrefined pilot training leading aviation to practical implementation and commercial\nenterprise, remarked L. Ferguson (Ferg) Norton, USN RADM (RET), president,\nFirst Flight Foundation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe addition of the Wright 1908 to the NC Museum of\nHistory enriches our state and aviation history not only through a beautiful\naircraft, but more importantly ensures that the NC Wright brothers story and\nthe lessons therein are told, shared today, and preserved for future\ngenerations,\u201d added Norton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wright 1908 airplane is being built by Rick and Sue\nYoung of Chester, VA. The Wright 1908 is their 20th aircraft and the second for\nthe museum.  The Youngs built the Wright\n1911 Glider currently displayed aerially in the museum lobby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Another view of the reproduction Wright motor.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Wright brothers made the first powered, sustained,\ncontrolled, manned flight in Kitty Hawk, NC Dec. 17, 1903.  The First Flight photograph is one of the\nmost recognized photographs world-wide, yet there are volumes of lesser known\nhistorically rich chapters in the Wrights\u2019 story.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the December 17th, 1903 flights, the Wrights\nreturned home to Ohio and resumed their aviation experiments to refine the\nairplane, utilizing Huffman Prairie for flights. They declared their 1905\naircraft the first practical airplane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the spring of 1908, the Wright brothers had signed\ncontracts for airplane sales to the U.S. Army and a French syndicate.  The contracts required that the aircraft have\nthe capability to carry a passenger. \nThis would require the pilot to be seated upright, and therefore also an\nupright control system. The lengthy flights of 1905 demonstrated both the\nphysical and time limitations of operating in the prone position.  The contracts also included distance, speed,\nand fuel capacity requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wright Flyer III 1905 was modified to meet the\ncontract requirements.                  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original 1905 Wright Flyer III airplane, rebuilt in\nits original configuration, is displayed in Carillon Park, Dayton, Ohio. \u201cIt is\nhailed as one of the most historic of the world\u2019s aircraft, noted \u201cDr. Tom\nCrouch, Senior Curator, Emeritus, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having not flown since 1905 at Huffman Prairie, OH, the\nWrights returned to Kitty Hawk, NC, to test their modified Wright Flyer III\n1905\/1908 airplane.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wilbur Wright in his airplane.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On May 6, 1908, the Wrights returned to the Carolina sky\nand over the next eight days made 22 flights testing the new airplane.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 14, 1908, Wilbur flew aloft with a passenger,\nCharles Furnas, a Wright mechanic accompanying the brothers from Ohio.  Subsequently, Furnas was the passenger on a\nflight piloted by Orville.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the 1903 flights, these flights were witnessed by\nseveral media correspondents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

America, by way of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, just\nrecorded its first passenger flights.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sands of Kitty Hawk saved Wilbur\u2019s life and aviation history, as we know it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The afternoon of May 14th Wilbur embarked on a long\nflight.  Seven minutes into the flight\nthe reporters noted that they could no longer hear the engine or see the\nairplane as it was beyond the side of Little Hill.  They assumed Wilbur had landed just beyond\nand that flying was over for the day; but, no, an issue with the elevator\ncontrol sent the airplane diving straight into the sand at 41 mph.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reporters had missed the crash.  They received accounts of the accident from\nthe members of the Kill Devil Hills Life Saving Station.  Making the best of the information available,\nthe crash became front-page news.  This\nfront-page coverage included that the Wrights had destroyed their only machine\nand that they were now in dire circumstances to fulfill contract obligations at\nhome and abroad.  Both claims were\nfalse.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had this crash happened anywhere other than on the sands of Kitty Hawk, the airplane would have been destroyed and Wilbur assuredly would have suffered a critical, if not a fatal blow.  Instead, Wilbur only suffered severe bumps and bruises.  The airplane was a wreck<\/em>, but the Wrights retrieved the pieces including the heavy components of the engine and transmission and shipped the wreckage back to Dayton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to media reports this was not their sole\nmachine.  The Wrights had shipped this\nsame aircraft to France in July 1907, a year in advance, to prepare for\ndemonstrations in France for contract obligations and potential sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilbur leaves Kitty Hawk traveling directly to France,\narriving May 29.  He sets up operations\nat the Le Mans racetrack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orville returns to home to Dayton to address multiple\nbusiness matters, makes final preparations for his aircraft, and travels to Ft.\nMyer, VA, arriving August 20.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This marks the first time the Wrights are separated.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

August 8, 1908, Le Mans, France. Wilbur said that the day\nwas the \u201cfinest day for a first trial he had for several weeks\u201c\u2026I thought it\nwould be a good thing to do a little something\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The little something<\/em> sent the world into aviation frenzy and launched the Wright brothers as the world\u2019s first international celebrities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most wonderful flying machine that has ever been\nmade-The London Daily Mirror. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European flights dispelled the doubts of the Wrights\nclaims to have flown and that indeed they had accomplished all that they had\nprofessed and proved their mastery of the air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Wright 1908-1909 chapter will continue as the aircraft\u2019s build-out progresses and in conjunction with the related historical dates.  The story and updates will be provided via the multiple outlets of the North Carolina Museum of History, the First Flight Foundation, NC DOT Aviation, and NC Skybrief. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the third Wright project between the Foundation and Museum. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, the Foundation awarded the Museum grant funding\nto procure the Wright 1911 Glider, the \u201cstar\u201d aircraft of the 2011 Soaring 100\ncelebration of Orville Wright\u2019s 1911 soaring flight of 9 minutes 45 seconds\nwhich set a standing 10-year world record.  \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, the Foundation funded the engineering, cradle\nmanufacture, and temporary installation of the Wright 1903 airplane from the\nvisitor center of Wright Brothers National Memorial (WBNM) as the facility was\nrenovated.  The 1903 airplane returned to\nWBNM late 2018.  The memorial\u2019s visitor\ncenter re-opened to the public October 20, 2018.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cradle constructed for this temporary aerial display\nof the WBNM 1903 airplane was designed in preparation to display the Wright\n1908 aircraft.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gift Honors North Carolina\u2019s First Director of Aviation North Carolina not only has the distinction for the world\u2019s first powered flight, but also stakes claim to America\u2019s first passenger flight, May 14, 1908.   The 1908 chapter of the North Carolina-Wright story is finally being told thanks to the continued partnership of the First Flight Foundation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-carolina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wright-1908.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18422"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18432,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18422\/revisions\/18432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}