In Dayton, OH!

n July 20 and 21 you can see a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer -- the first aircraft to make a controlled, sustained powered flight -- fly in Dayton, Ohio. The original Flyer was built in Dayton but flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This particular replica was built in Albuquerque, New Mexico and its builder is bringing it to Ohio to make demonstration flights at the Dayton Air Show.

What's unique about this replica -- besides the fact that it's flying in Dayton -- is that YOU can build it and fly it, if you so wish.  The replica Flyer is a 1:12 scale radio-controlled (RC) model with a 40-inch wingspan, powered by two electric motors and an on-board battery.  Designer/builder Pat Tritle perfected the replica over the last few years for Dare Engineering and Design. Dare manufacturers and sells laser-cut kits for wood-and-paper model aircraft, many of them historic replicas. Dare is gearing up to manufacture Pat's Flyer, and they plan to have them available at the air show. They will also introduce a rubber band-powered version of the Flyer for the first time anywhere!

Pat Tritle and Terry Dean (co-founder of Dare Design) will be the guests of the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company at the Dayton Air Show this year. Weather permitting, Pat will fly the model Flyer inside our tent, out of the wind. Both Pat and Terry will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about building and flying both the radio-controlled and rubber band-powered airplanes.

"It's not a beginner's RC airplane," Pat tells us. "The Flyer takes practice and skill to fly it. But it flies very well -- it's amazingly stable when it turns."

Pat did an enormous amount of work to make the replica fly -- more than he ever expected to do. He started by building an exact scale model and found it wanted to nose in -- he couldn't keep it aloft. Finally, he worked the bugs out by making a glider and making small changes until he had a stable flying machine. Then he scaled up the glider and added power. The result is what you will see at the Dayton Air Show. It isn't an exact scale model, but it's very close.

Pat tells us about his quest to make the Flyer fly in his own words in "Will & Orv's Workshop" in the Adventure Wing. To read his story, click HERE. If you'd like to build a flying model of the 1903 Wright Flyer, click HERE to find out how you can purchase a kit from Dare.

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Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Like the Wright brothers, Pat started with gliders. First he adapted the Flyer's unique configuration to make a small, stable glider. Then he made the aircraft larger and added electric power.

Pat has also adapted his design to make a rubber band-powered Wright Flyer. You can see this for the first time at the Dayton Air Show 2002.