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1901 Wright Glider:
This reproduction of Orville and Wilbur Wright's second version of their 1901 glider is on loan from Ken Hyde. The glider was built at Mr. Hyde's Virginia Aviation and Machine Co. and tested in the wind tunnel at NASA Langley.
The Wright brothers experimented with several forms of their glider before making the first successful powered, heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, NC on December 17, 1903. This glider fixed several problems of the first version, but still was unsuccessful. The 1902 version added vertical surfaces at the rear, and with its final configuration more closely resembled modern aircraft controls. |