Dayton likes to brag that this plane is more “original” than #1 on display at NASM.

Yeah, but it’s tough to top #1, even if very little of the original is left. I couldn’t imagine the guts it took to take flight in one of these box kites with a lawn mower engine. Shows you how far and rapidly we have come.

What strikes me about these original Wright machines is how unflyable they were.

Ken Hyde is a retired American guy with a JN-4, who for decades now, has recreated those first machines. For the centennial of powered flight, they recreated a perfect replica of the '03 flyer and trained up three pilots with a lot of antique and hang glider experience. They even brought in Scott Crossfield to help develop a flight test mentality.

Long story short?

They couldn't get airborne. It's been speculated that the time the Wrights spent with their kites and gliders are the only way they developed sufficient ability to fly those first weight shift wing warped aircraft.

I love the older airplanes. Mine is 82 years old, and it's the newest machine I've owned.

I attended the 75 anniversary celebration . Someone had gotten a grant to build a copy and fly it during the ceremony . We were up on the hill , wind 25/30knots out of the NE ,about 40 degrees,a few flakes of snow . Tried about 6 times to get airborne ,finally managed to get the nose off the ground , then collapsed . The owner claimed he got it to fly by towing behind a truck .

Not as old , but a friend has a pristine Cessna 180, serial number 3, the oldest flying 180. The first 2 were destroyed.

Nice of You to Show up Greg Stratz Did You know about this in advance?

You rang Sidney?

You rang Sidney?

Sidney, I had no clue who the guy was and it was totally unscripted. I just happened to drive by on my golf cart, saw activity at that B36TC that has been sitting for a good 10+ years and stopped by to see what they were up to.
At first I didn’t even know we were being filmed.

The timeframe and innovation between the Wright Flyer and the A-12. Mind numbing.