Happy Wright Brothers Day

I was so tempted to fly over to FFA today but the wife suggested we do that trip on a warmer day so we can enjoy the outside more. So it's going on the schedule for 2018. So rather than filling up the airplane's tank, I just might fill this up.
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If I had one. :(
 
What really made the flight possible ...


Amazing they got the flight done at all, given they probably had to waste several days dealing with the mandatory Garmin software update over telegraph wires...
 
Read David McCoullough's book about the Wrights. Best out there IMO.
"When you know after the first few minutes that the whole mechanism is working perfectly, the sensation is so keenly delightful as to be almost beyond description. Nobody who has not experienced it for himself can realize it. It is a realization of a dream so many persons have had of floating in the air. More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with the excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost, if you can conceive of such a combination". - Wilber Wright
 
It had never occurred to me that there was an observed Wright Bros day. Now, I know. Very cool!
 
What's remarkable is they recognized only two axes of control (there was no yaw control although there was a fixed vertical fin). It must have been an uncontrollable terrorizing piece of machinery. It took them quite a while before they realized that Yaw control was necessary. No wonder they only got it to fly for ~900 ft on that third flight. Just like students today!

They understood bicycle control (i. e. countersteer) much better.
 
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