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An Online Newsletter For Wright-Minded Folks

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"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.

The 1903 Centennial Flyer

We are helping young people across the United States to build a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the first airplane to make a controlled, sustained, powered flight. With the help of volunteers, we will conduct workshops for kids, teaching them basic aerodynamics and the history of the Wright Brothers. In these workshops, the kids will make ribs for a Wright Flyer and sign them. They will send these signed ribs to Dayton, where we will assemble them into an airplane. The completed 1903 Centennial Flyer will be unveiled at the Dayton International Airport on December 17, 2002.

Want more info? Click on the title above.


The 1903 Wright Flyer replica will hang where over 4 million airplane travelers will see it each year and enjoy the handiwork of the young people who built it.

The 1905
Bicentennial Flyer

To help celebrate the centennial of the first flight and the bicentennial of Ohio's statehood, we are helping young people in Ohio to build a flying replica of the 1905 Wright Flyer 3, the first practical airplane. With the help of volunteers, we will conduct workshops for Ohio school children, teaching them basic aerodynamics and the history of the Wright Brothers. In these workshops, the kids will make ribs for a 1905 Flyer and sign them. They will send these signed ribs to Dayton, where we will assemble them into an airplane. The completed 1905 Bicentennial Flyer will fly at celebrations throughout Ohio in 2003.

Want more info? Click on the title above.


The 1905 Wright Flyer in flight -- ours will be a flying replica.

The Wright Brothers Centennial Cup

In cooperation with the Flying Angels of the Barnhart Memorial Airport of New Carlisle, Ohio, we invite builders of Wright airplane replicas, Wright radio-controlled airplane models, and static Wright airplane models to participate in the 2003 Annual Airplane Parade on July 4, 2003. Immediately following the parade, builders are invited to Barnhart Airport to compete for the Wright Brothers Centennial Cup. We will award seven cups in all — one for replicas, one for RC models, four for static models in several age categories, and one for Best of Show. Winners and runners-up will be invited to display their replicas and models at our space in the Dayton International Air Show later in July.

Want more info? Click on the title above.

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The design for the Wright Brothers Centennial Cup is based on a design by artist J. Todd Anderson and engineer Walter Hoy. It isn't a "cup" in the traditional sense, but an elegant metal sculpture  of the 1905 Wright Flyer 3, the world's first practical airplane. The six small cups will have a 20" wingspan (1/24 scale) and the large cup will have a 35" wingspan (1/14 scale).

Wright Symposium

On September 28, 2001, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio (spitting distance from Huffman Prairie) will host a symposium on Wright Brothers historical sites. If you would like to attend, check the West Side News for the details. We'll post them here as they become available.

Want more info? Click on the title above.

Looking for an old story you saw a while back or that someone told you about? Try our archives.

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