An Online Newsletter For Wright-Minded Folks

	"All the news...that most people care to read, and in such a shape that people will have time to read it." -- Orville Wright, 1890	Public Notice! Please submit news and information to: mailto:[email protected].
The original *West Side News* was a weekly newspaper that Wilbur and Orville Wright published briefly in 1890 and 1891. We have revived it to exchange information on early aviation history. It's also a way to coordinate activities and inform the public of upcoming events as we look toward the 100th anniversary of the first flight in 2003. The stories to the right are abbreviated so you can scan them quickly. For the full text, click on the headlines.	Own a Wright Propeller -- Signed By Orville Wright! On Thanksgiving Weekend of 1944, Joe Willhelm and his brother Richard took an old propeller that their father had acquired and went to see Orville Wright. Orville greeted the young men cordially, inspected the propeller and said, yes, it was one of his, then signed and dated it. Joe and his bother thanked Orville and left with the propeller. Little did they know that they now possessed the ONLY known piece of a Wright airplane that bears the autograph of one of the Wright Brothers. The Willhelm family has graciously lent this propeller to the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company to use in our exhibits through 2003, and in return the WBAC has agreed to conduct a silent auction to sell the propeller for the Wilhelm family. If you would like to know more about the propeller and how to participate in the auction, click *HERE*.	This rare and valuable propeller, signed by Orville Wright, could be yours if you participate in our on-line auction. The propeller appears to be from a late-model Wright airplane, probably a Model G or Model H, made between 1913 and 1915. Orville's signature is in pencil on the back of the blade (the concave surface).
	Birth of Aviation Pavilion Hits a Home Run at the Dayton Air Show 2003. We unveiled our Birth of Aviation Pavilion at the Dayton Air Show 2003 to an audience of a *quarter of a million people. For four days, folks strolled though a walk-through timeline, immersing themselves in the invention of the airplane. For the first ever, they were able to see all six aircraft that the Wright brothers built between 1899 and 1905 in their quest for a practical flying machine. Our visitors included members of Congress, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Governor of the State of Ohio. Even the Discovery Channel* was there, catching it all on tape for a documentary that aired recently. If you weren't among those notables who attended, don't despair. We've put together a virtual walk-though so you can experience it for yourself. Click *HERE!*
	Looking for an old story you saw a while back or that someone told you about? Try our archives.

Back to Top