• The 1899 Wright Kite had a wingspan (length) of 5 to 6 feet and a chord (width) of 13 to 15 inches. It was covered with a lightweight cloth and shellacked to seal the weave.
• In June of 1899, Wilbur discovered he could twist an inner tube box by squeezing the ends, turning one corner up and the other corner down. This led to the "aileron principle," a method by which an airplane could be rolled right and left.
• The kite was made with flexible wings. Four control lines ran from the forward corners to two control sticks. By angling the control sticks in opposite directions, Wilbur could twist or "warp" the wings of the kite. This, in turn, caused the kite to roll in one direction or the other.
• Today, a kite like this with four control strings is called a "quad."
• Wilbur first flew the kite in late July of 1899. When the control worked, he became so excited that he pedaled for miles out to where Orville was camping with some friends to tell him about the experiment. The two began planning a larger, manned aircraft immediately.
• The only sketches of the Kite we have are from 1911 -- Wilbur drew them to make a point in a patent hearing. As drawn, the kite does not work. We had to reduce the camber and redesign the wings to make it fly.
• Although history only records one kite, there were probably several. We think Wilbur must have experienced some of the same problems we did with wing shapes and he would have had to do some experimentation to get it right.
• The experimental kites hung around the Wright bike shop for years and were burned in 1905 to make room. Wilbur gave away several of the kites to neighborhood kids.

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Facts about the 1900 Wright Glider

• The 1900 Wright Glider had a wingspan (length) of 17-1/2 feet and a chord (width) of 5 feet. It was made from pine, spruce, and ash, and covered with "French sateen" cloth. It weighed 52 pounds.

• In 1900, Wilbur began a correspondence with Octave Chanute, an accomplished engineer and the author of "Progress in Flying Machines," and told him of his plans to build a glider. The correspondence would grow into a friendship and last many years.

• Chanute advised Wilbur to seek wind and sand to fly his gliders -- wind to get them into the air and soft sand to bring them down safely. Wilbur wrote to the United States Weather Service for a list of windy locations. The Weather Service sent back several journals that listed the average wind speeds at various stations. Wilbur wrote several weather stations, among them Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

• John Dosher, the superintendent of the weather station at Kitty Hawk, and Bill Tate, the Kitty Hawk postmaster, write to Wilbur and tell him "if you come among us, you will find a hospitable people." They are the only people to reply to Wilbur's inquiries.

• Wilbur left first for Kitty Hawk, Orville followed a few weeks later. To get to Kitty Hawk, the brothers took the Big Four train from Dayton to Cincinnati, where they caught a C &O train to Old Point Comfort, VA. From there they took a steamer to Norfolk; a Norfolk and Southern train to Elizabeth City, NC; and a sailboat to Kitty Hawk or Manteo, NC. The C&O traveled through Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia, including passage through the Big Bend tunnel of John Henry fame.

• Wilbur made all the parts for the 1900 glider in Dayton except the spars and shipped them to Kitty Hawk. He bought wood for the spars in Norfolk, VA. He had hoped to build a glider with a 20-foot wingspan, but could only find 16-foot long boards. Consequently, he had to make the wings shorter than planned.
• Wilbur arrived in Kitty Hawk on September 13, 1900 and began building the 1900 glider in Bill Tate's front yard. Later, Bill Tate would erect a small monument on the spot -- the first Wright monument in America -- marking his yard as the place where the Age of Aviation began.
• Orville arrived on September 28 with camping gear, food, a mandolin, and a camera.
• The brothers pitch their 12-foot by 22-foot tent about a mile from the Tates. The tent was manufactured by the Wright by the Glawe Tent Company. Glawe is still in business and also furnished this pavilion.
• The Wrights assemble a biplane glider with warping wings and a flexible front elevator that changes camber when they move it up or down. They have located the elevator at the front not only to provide control, but to protect them in case a a headlong collision with a sand dune.
• The Wrights test the glider as a kite, making the first ever measurements of the forces of lift and drag on an aircraft in flight. They find the glider will not produce enough lift to carry a man in moderate winds.
• On October 10, the wind picks up the glider and smashes it into the sand. The Wrights consider going home, but decide to rebuild the glider.
• Since the glider will not produce enough lift to fly a man, the Wright's kite Bill Tate's nephew, Tom Tate, aloft. Young Tom weight just 75 pounds, although "he could tell more tales that any kid twice his size," according to Orville.
• On October 22 just before the Wright leave for home, Wilbur makes about a dozen free flights in a high wind.  The flights are unspectacular, but the prove to Wilbur that he can control the glider in the air. Orville does not fly -- apparently Wilbur will not let him until he is sure the glider is safe.
• That evening, the Wrights haul the glide to the top of the highest sand dune and launch it unmanned. Later on, Bill Tate's wife will cut the cloth covering off the abandoned glider and make dresses for her daughters.