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his experimental glider was originally built as a test platform for an automatic stabilizer. It had the vertical blinkers like the Model C, but was similar in size to the Model EX biplane. It had a 32-foot span; 5-foot chord; 300 sq-foot wings; 21.5-foot length; and weighed about 170 lb. (including 12 lb. sand suspended on a long pole in front to correct the balance of the aircraft for the missing motor). In Oct 1911, Orville took this airplane to Kitty Hawk to test his new stabilizer. Because he did not want newspaper men to see the stabilizer, he only flew it as a glider. On 24 Oct 1911, Orville soared it for 9 minutes 45 seconds, a world record that stood for 10 years.

References:

  • McFarland, Marvin W. (ed) The papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1953, p 1183, plates 198-201.
  • Crouch, Tom D., The Bishop's Boys, A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1989, pp 444-445.

 [Submitted by Joe W. McDaniel]

 1911 Exp Glider.jpg (33648 bytes)
Orville soars in an experimental glider at Kitty Hawk in 1911.

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