It's really difficult not to gush about the new Wright brothers documentary from David Garrigus and his vision of Kitty Hawk. I suppose you have to take some of what is said here and divide by half since we're in it, but all of us in Dayton who have reviewed this film have been stunned by its depth of information and the beauty of its visual presentation.  Only someone truly passionate about his subject could have done this much research and put it together so well. One quick example: David told me that he traveled up and down the North Carolina Outerbanks, visiting all the little museums and historical societies to collect information and photos that the outside world has never seen. The result is a portrait of life in Kitty Hawk in 1900 that is so engrossing you can feel the sand in your shoes.

David Thompson and Tom Cherry, two Wilbur and Orville look-alikes from North Carolina, recreate the flights and experiments of the Wright brothers. They are delightful, both on the screen and in person. They know their history and they are game for about anything. They have recreated more of the Wrights' gliding experiences than was ever intended. One windy day, we were carrying the 1900 glider back to our hangar/tent and a gust caught it. Tom hung on and before we could react, he was 15 feet in the air. Fortunately, the glider worked for Tom just as it did for Wilbur -- it let him down again gently enough that the pilot was not injured, except for his dignity.

Kitty Hawk has been released and is now available in either DVD or VHS format from David Garrigus Productions.  As an added bonus for purchasing the DVD, you get a free copy of all eight of the Machines of the Wright Brothers filmlets (see below). Later this year, the 2-hour documentary will air on PBS -- watch your local television schedules.  You can also see it and purchase it in our Birth of Aviation Pavilion at the 2003 Dayton Air Show. We'll be playing a portion of it in our "Huffman Prairie Theater" and the complete program is for sale in our gift shop.

Filming a kiting experiment for Kitty Hawk.

David Thompson (left) and Tom Cherry (right) test the lift of a single wing of the 1901 glider.

Re-rigging the 1902 glider to convert the tail into a rudder. (See Wagging Its Tail.)

NASA's The Why? Files is a children's show produced out of the NASA Langley Office of Education for public television. It stars several young people as the "Treehouse Detectives" who solve problems and, in the process, learn a great deal about science. The show does a great job of explaining both basic and advanced scientific concepts so that anyone -- even the densest of adults -- can understand them.

The episode in which we participated was called "The Case of the 'Wright' Invention" a starred our own intrepid test pilot, Dudley Mea

d, as Orville Wright. Steve Hunwitz plays Wilbur and looks so much like him that it was all we could do not to stare.  In this episode, the Treehouse Detectives are trying their had at inventing something to make bicycles more visible in the dark. One of their members, Jacob Bennington, find himself transported back in time to the steps of the Wright Cycle Company, where Will and Orv (Steve and Dudley) coax him through the process of invention. The show winds up with the Wright brothers and the Treehouse Detectives flying the 1902 Wright Glider at Kittyhawk.

You can learn more about The Why? Files and see some past episodes on streaming video at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/
whyfiles/whyfiles.html

Dudley Mead as Orville Wright.

Steve Hunwitz as Wilbur Wright.

David Garrigus Productions is also preparing a series of streaming videos for the US Centennial of Flight Commission. Called The Machines of the Wright Brothers, each 3-to-4-minute film focuses on one of the developmental airplanes of the Wright brothers, their wind tunnel, or their engine and propellers. When viewed all together, they trace the progress of inventive thought as the Wright brothers developed a practical airplane from a simple kite.

Garrigus Productions has finished all 8 of these "filmlets, and they premiere in our Birth of Aviation Pavilion at the Dayton Air Show, July 17 through 20, 2003.

If you'd like to see a little snippet from the 1900 Wright Glider episode, click HERE. If you have trouble viewing the video, go to Apple and download the QuickTime extension for your browser. It's free!

The "filmlets" are narrated by Nick Engler, shown here demonstrating how Wilbur discovered wing warping.

Tom Cherry and David Thompson also make appearances as the Wright brothers.