A Closer Look
WRIGHT
BROTHERS Aeroplane
Company
A Closer Look
rvile
and Wilbur were apparently anxious to get back to Kitty Hawk for the 1901 flying
season. They left in late July, 1901, more than a month earlier than they had
the year before. They took with them the parts of their second glider, ready to
assemble when they arrived at the Outerbanks. They also took with them the tools
they needed to build a semi-permanent structure at their camp -- a
cabin/hangar/workshop sort of building -- just a shed, really -- but it was to
be a big improvement over the tent they had camped in the year before. Both the
glider and the shed spoke volumes of the optimism they had at the beginning of
the flying season.
The 1901 glider was larger, more sophisticated, and much better engineered than their first flying machine -- or so the Wright brothers hoped. It had almost twice as much wing surface to increase lift, a deeper camber, curved front skids, a raised elevator, "belly" skids, a control system with more mechanical advantage to make it more effective, and other improvements. Unfortunately, it wasn't half the flying machine the Wright brothers hoped it would be. It still did not produce enough lift to suit them. And the wide wings and the deep camber made the controls less effective than on the 1900 glider. The Wrights trussed the wings to reduce the depth of the camber and some of the control effectiveness returned, but it still was a poor performer by any aerodynamic standard.
What was more frustrating is that the Wright brothers put everything they knew into building this glider. In many ways, it encompassed the sum total of nineteenth aeronautical wisdom, and still it was not enough to produce a decent glider. The Wrights had no idea what else they might do. The left Kitty Hawk early, completely stymied. On the trip home, Wilbur remarked to Orville that man might still fly, "but it won't be in our lifetimes, not in a thousand years."
We built this replica f the 1901 Wright Glider to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1901gliding experiments. These may not seem like much to celebrate as this is perhaps the Wright brothers least successful flying machine. But a true scientific achievement is rarely built on success alone. Science is a way to learn from both success and failure -- both play an essential role in the advancement of knowledge. The 1901 Wright Glider, an unsuccessful as it may have been, was an important step in the invention of the airplane.
Below is a "walk-around" of our glider, as it was displayed on the sands of Jockeys Ridge State Park, Nags Head, North Carolina, were we test-flew it in September and October of 2001.
 The 190i Glider replica as it appears looking at it diagonally from the left and front. We found in building this glider that it is actually the most complex of the three experimental gliders. Surprisingly, the 1902 glider is actually simpler, although better designed and engineered. |
 The glider from the side -- like the 1900 glider before it, the rear spar is on top of the ribs instead of under them. Once again, the Wrights were thinking that it was important to keep the underside of the wing smooth to generate maximum lift. |
 The glider diagonally from the left rear. As in 1900, the rear spar acts as a spoiler and reduces the lift. This may account for some of the discrepancy between the lift they calculated and the lift they actually measured. |
 The glider straight on from the rear. The Wrights continued to use the same rigging system they had the year before. By tensioning just four wires on the airplane, they could tune all the flying and landing wires. |
 Another diagonal view -- that's our "hangar" in the background. Actually, it's a large tent that the rangers at Jockeys Ridge State Park kindly gave us permission to erect, and then -- even more kindly -- helped us carry the poles and tarps back into the dunes. Many, many thanks! |
 The 1901 glider from the right side. The wide wings give the glider a low "aspect ratio." The wingspan divided by the chord is just 3. When they built their wind tunnel, the Wrights would learn that a low aspect ratio is inefficient. Next year's glider would have an aspect ratio of 6-1/2! |
 The glider seen from the right front, at a diagonal. Note that it has no tail. At this point, the Wrights still think they can control a glider with elevator and wing warping only. When then try to turn this glider in flight, they'll have their first brush with "adverse yaw" -- the glider will yaw in the opposite direction of the roll. |
 The glider from the front. All those wires -- rigging and trussing -- create an enormous amount of drag in the air. That's another reason this machine is such a poor flier. |
 The 1901 glider seen from the bottom, held by David Thompson, an Orville Wright look-alike. We're reenact a famous photo. You can compare this to the old one by clicking HERE. |
 Here's the view as you step into the cockpit. You rest your belly on the "belly bar," grasp the elevator control bar with your hands and place you feet against the kickbar. |
 The Wrights raised the elevator off the sand on this model. The 1900 glider elevator tends to dig into the sand when you land. |
 The kickbar controls the wing warping. The trailing end of the bar slides against a metal strip under the rear spar. This keeps the pivot from twisting up and forward as it does on the 1900 glider. |
 In addition to the regular landing and flying wires, the wings are trussed to reduce the camber from 1/12 to 1/20. The Wrights found the the deeper camber created control problems. |
 To correct the problem, they attached a third or "middle" spar to the lower wing, just behind the peak of the camber. They attached four short "truss posts" to the middle spar. |
 Then they ran wires from the front spar to the rear spar over the tops of the posts. When they tightened these wires, the middle spar depressed the ribs, flattening them and reducing the camber. |
 Then the Wrights ran wires from the tops of the posts to the top ribs. When they tightened these wires, the pulled the ribs down, flattening them to the same degree as the bottom ribs. |
 Before we left Dayton, we noticed a strange feature of the elevator control design. The elevator will lock in a neutral position if you attempt to turn the nose of the glider down. This may explain one of the most frightening accidents Wilbur had when flying this glider. |
 The first time in the air in 1901, Wilbur could not turn the nose of the glider down and the wind carried him higher and higher until he stalled. To prevent this from happening to us, we installed to short wooden "stops" to prevent the controls from locking. |
 Here's what the 1901 Wright Glider looks like in the air when it's kited. It may not be much of a flying machine, but it's a good kiting machine. And yes, the sky really is that blue on a good day at Kitty Hawk. |
 Flying our 1901 replica, we were amazed at how ineffective the controls were compared to the 1900. You can fly aboard the aircraft, but you feel like a bug on a wind-blown leaf. It's no wonder the Wright left Kitty Hawk frustrated.. |
| While we were down in the North Carolina
Outerbanks for the Return to Kitty Hawk 2001, Michelangelo
Flores, the benevolent master of virtual realities, put together a
series of "VR images" for us. The image you see here
allows you to "spin" the 1901 Wright Glider on the sand so you
can see it from all angles -- just click on the photo to the right.
(It's 304K.) To enjoy the VR images that Michelangelo has created, you'll
need a QuickTime extension for your browser . If you don't have one,
download it from the Apple
web site. It's free!
QTVR image � 2001 by Michelangelo Flores |
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