|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1900 Wright Glider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Adventure Wing
|
 he 1900 Wright Glider was a revolution in aeronautical
engineering. It was the first of its kind with
aerodynamic control surfaces – movable planes to help
balance the glider in the air. The front elevator could be curved to
pitch the nose of the aircraft up or down. The wings could be
twisted or "warped" to roll the aircraft right and left. The
pioneer glider pilots that preceded the Wright brothers had simply
shifted their weight to balance their craft – a difficult,
dangerous, and ineffective method of control.
There were other innovations as well. The Wrights used considerably less rigging to brace their airframe than previous glider makers such as Pilcher, Chanute, and Lilienthal. This reduced drag considerably. For that same reason, the pilot lay in a prone position rather than hanging beneath the glider. Orville had done some bicycle racing, and the brothers were well aware of what a difference could be made in performance by reducing the profile of the operator in the wind. Unfortunately, despite their measures to reduce drag, the performance was disappointing. The Wrights' first glider did not produce the expected lift. Only in high winds – too high to fly safely – would it carry a grown man. Consequently, they flew it mostly as an unmanned kite. But it was a success in one respect. The control surfaces worked well. Manipulating the controls from the ground with cables, the brothers could pitch and roll the aircraft with authority. Just before they left Kitty Hawk to return home to Dayton, Wilbur mounted the glider for several manned glides, some of which covered over 200 feet. Encouraged by the success of their controls and thrilled by their first real flights, they began to build a series of gliders and airplanes, each one better than the last. This work eventually resulted in the first practical aircraft. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of these first
tentative flights, the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company built a
replica of the 1900 Glider, then flew it at Kitty Hawk on October
22, 2000 -- precisely a century after the Wrights made their first
flights. |
|
| |
|
| |||
|
| |||
|
| |||
|
|
| ||
|
|
| ||
|
|
| ||
|
|
| ||
|
|
| ||
| ||||
The 1900
Need
to 
