During 23 May to 1 Dec 1904, the Wrights attempted to fly or flew a total of 105 times at Huffman Prairie, eight miles east of Dayton, OH. Without the high winds of Kitty Hawk, the Wrights had great difficulty getting off the ground in Dayton. Beginning 7 Sep 1904, Wrights used catapult  to launch plane in calm wind. This "catapult" was actually a wooden derrick, 20 feet high, which dropped a 1200- to 1400-pound weight. The weight was attached to a rope. The rope stretched down the derrick, under the launching rail, and back to the trolley on which the Flyer traveled. When the weight fell, the rope pulled the trolley and the Flyer quickly along the rail. 

The Wright made 105 flights in 1904, racking up 45 minutes in total flight time. The two best flights (9 Nov and 1 Dec) exceeded 5 minutes and about 3 miles (almost four circles of the field).

The wooden parts were burned in 1905, the mechanical parts were recycled on the Flyer 3

References:

• McFarland, 1953, p 1183, plates 79-86.
• Wright, Orville in Kelly, 1953, p 45.
•  McFarland, Marvin W. (ed) The papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1953, p 1183, plates 79-86.
• Wright, Orville, "How We Invented the Airplane." (from depositions in Montgomery vs. U.S. 13 Jan 20 and 2 Feb 21; in Kelly, Fred C. (editor) How We Invented the Airplane, an Illustrated History. Dover Publications, New York, 1953, p 45)

[Submitted by Joe W. McDaniel]

The 1904 Flyer was not a stable aircraft. It had a tendency to pitch up and down and often the Wrights could not stop it from turning once it began. Consequently, most flights were short.