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The 1902
Wright Glider
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The
1903
Wright
Flyer I
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The
1905
Wright
Flyer III
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uilt in Dayton,
Ohio and test-flown at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the original 1902 Wright
Glider is one of the most important machines ever designed. Although the Wright
Brothers are better known for the 1903 Wright Flyer, in which they made the
first sustained powered flights, their 1902 glider was the first fully
controllable aircraft, with movable surfaces that balanced the craft in
the air in all three axes.It was also the basis of their
patent. If you look up the Wright brothers patent No. 821,323 for a
"Flying Machine," you'll find drawings of the 1902 Wright Glider,
not a powered aircraft. Putting a motor on an airplane was
nothing new, even in the Wrights' day. What was new, however, was
the manner in which they controlled and navigated their aircraft.
The vertical rudder (at the back of the glider) yawed the nose
from side to side. The horizontal elevator (at the front of the glider) pitched
the nose up and down. And a unique wing-warping system (the forerunner of modern
ailerons) rolled the wings left and right. This allowed a pilot, for the first
time, to navigate in all three dimensions. This basic,
brilliant idea -- yaw, pitch, and roll control -- is still used in every
aircraft flying today. It's also the basis of spacecraft control, submarine
navigation, robotics, computer-aided design and manufacture, and digital
animation. These remarkable advances all trace their roots back
to this simple machine. If you research the fundamental patent on the airplane,
you'll find a drawing of the 1902 Wright Glider, not the 1903 Wright Flyer.
So far, we've built and flown three copies of the
1902 Wright Glider. The particular replica you see in these photographs was built for
our educational
mission. We
designed it to come apart so it will fit through an ordinary door. This allows
us to set up the glider inside a school or museum quickly, easily,
and inexpensively. All we need is a 20' by 40' space and about an hour's time to
assemble the glider. So far, this glider as traveled as far east as Portland,
Maine and as far west as Pasadena, California. We've set it up for the enjoyment
and education of
students from kindergarten to high school. If you would like us to bring this
glider and our "portable museum" of the Wright Brothers to your school
or educational institution, see
"The Secret of Flight" Project.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/01_1902-Wright-Glider-w-Grob-&-737_262.JPG)
One of the first places we exhibited our 1902 Wright Glider
was at the Purdue University Airport in Lafeyette, IN. It was nestled in between Purdue's Boeing 737 and a
brand new 2002 Grob glider. There was exactly 100 years of
aeronautic progress between the two gliders.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/02_1902-Wright-Glider-Overview_262.JPG)
While the Grob represented to pinnacle of the soaring art in 2002,
the 1902 glider was the most advanced aircraft of its day. It was
the first aircraft that the Wright brothers designed using the
scientific data they had gleaned from their wind tunnel experiments,
and the first whose performance they
could predict with certainty.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/03_1902-Wright-Glider-font-view_262.JPG)
A front view of the 1902 glider. With a
length of 17 feet (5.1 meters) the Wright glider is less than 1/8
the size of the 737. In fact, just the tailspan of the 737 (47 feet/14.3 meters) is 1.5 times the entire wingspan (32 feet/9.7
meters) of the glider.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/04_1902-Wright-Glider-front-left-diagonal-view_262.JPG)
The Wright glider from the left front viewed diagonally.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/05_1902-Wright-Glider-left-side-view_262.JPG)
A view of the Wright glider from the left side.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/06_1902-Wright-Glider-left-rear-diagonal-view_262.JPG)
The Wright glider from the left rear diagonally.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/07_1902-Wright-Glider-rear-view_262.JPG)
A rear view of the Wright glider.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/08_1902-Wright-Glider-right-rear-diagonal-view_262.JPG)
The glider from the right rear diagonally.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/09_1902-Wright-Glider-right-side-view_262.JPG)
The glider from the right side.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/10_1902-Wright-Glider-elevator_262.JPG)
A close up view of the glider's front elevator or "canard."
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/11_1902-Wright-Glider-cockpit_262.JPG)
The cockpit of the 1902 Wright glider. The pilot lay prone with his
hips in the U-shaped cradle. By moving his hips left and right, the
pilot warped the wings.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/12_1902-Wright-Glider-elevator-control_262.JPG)
A close-up of the elevator control. The pilot grasped the horizontal
control bar with both hands and rolled his wrists forward or back to
pitch the aircraft nose down or nose up.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/13_1902-Wright-Glider-control-pulley_262.JPG)
The control wires for the wing warping ran over boxwood pulleys. The
pulleys were turned from roller-skate wheels.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/14_1902-Wright-Glider-strut-fitting_262.JPG)
A close-up of the strut-to-spar connection. Note the guide for the
control wire.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/15_1902-Wright-glider-wing-warp-demonstration_262.JPG)
Click on this thumbnail for an animated demonstration of wing
warping.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/16_Then-and-now-1902-Wright-glider-&-2002-Grob-yaw-strings_262.jpg)
Some things never change. Despite the 100 years that separates the
1902 Wright Glider from the 2002 Grob, they both use the same simple
instrument to gauge the relative wind – a piece of string, called a
"yaw string.". The string is taped to the canopy of the Grob and
tied to the forward rail of the Wright glider.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/17_1902-Wright-Glider-on-sand-right-front-diagonal-view_262.JPG)
The 1902 Wright Glider on the sand dunes of Jockey's Ridge State
Park in Nags Head, NC. The park is just a few miles south of Kill
Devil Hills on the Outerbanks. The dunes are less than half the size
of those that Orville and Wilbur flew from, but they are nonetheless
the largest undeveloped stretch of dunes remaining in this area.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/18_Cockpit-of-1902-Wright-glider-prepared-for-flight_262.JPG)
The 1902 glider prepared for flight. Note the horns of the cradle
are wrapped with foam. Not exactly historically correct, but much
appreciated by our pilots. If you suffer through a hard landing
without it, the hardwood cradle badly bruises your hips.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/19_Carrying-1902-Wright-Glider-up-dune_262.JPG)
We went to Jockey' s Ridge to celebrate the Centennial of Controlled
Flight. The Wright brothers first flew with three-axis control
(roll, pitch, and yaw) on October 8, 1902 after
modifying their glider to make the rudder movable.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/20_Arriving-with-1902-Wright-glider-at-launch-point_262.JPG)
Carrying the glider up the dunes. With us on this expedition were
four military pilots and test pilots used to flying much faster
aircraft.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/21_Kiting-1902-Wright-Glider_262.JPG)
We began our test flights the same way the Wrights began -- we kited
the glider to measure its performance.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/22_Picking-up-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
To get ready to fly, the pilot stands in the cockpit space while the
"launchers" pick the glider up. Once off the sand, it immediately
begins to fly in the wind. The pilot is Major Dawne Dunlap USAF, an
F-15 test pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/23_Ready-to-launch-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
The pilot climbs into the cockpit and the launchers adjust the angle
of attack so the wings best supports the added weight. The pilot is
Captain Tanya Markow, US Army, who is more at home in an Apache
helicopter.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/24_Beginning a launch-run-in-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
The launchers begin to run the glider into the wind. The pilot is
WBAC member Dudley Mead, an accomplished hang glider pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/25_Take-off-run-with-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
As the launchers run the glider into the wind, the pilot adjusts the
elevator so the nose of the aircraft is neither rising or falling.
The pilot is Lt. Commander Klaus Ohman, US Navy and an F-16 test
pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/26_Successful-lanch-of-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
When the pilot feels in control, he calls to the launchers to
"Release!" Lt. Commander Klaus Ohman, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/28_Just-after-releasing-1902-Wright-Glider_262.JPG)
Immediately after release, you must point the nose down and hug the
slope of the dune to gain speed. If you raise the nose too soon, the
glider stalls and settles into the sand, as it is about to do here
for Capt. Jim Alexander, USAF. Jim flies the MC-130 Shadow.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/27_1902-Wright-glider-on-its-way-up_262.JPG)
Keep the elevator neutral and the speed builds rapidly as the glider
coasts downhill. Lt. Commander Klaus Ohman, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/29_Getting-some-altitude-in-1902-Wright-Glider_262.JPG)
Once you have a little speed, you can trade it for altitude. Capt.
Tanya Markow, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/30_Close-up-of-1902-Wright-Glider-in-flight_262.jpg)
Passing overhead. Capt. Jim Alexander, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/31_Reaching-maximun-altitude-in-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
Still on his way up – maximum altitude was 15 to 20 feet. Capt. Jim
Alexander, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/32_Midway-through-a-glide-in1902-WSright-glider_262.JPG)
Reaching the bottom of the dune, you raise the nose ever so slightly
to stretch your glide as you lose altitude. Lt. Commander Klaus
Ohman, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/33_Midflight-in-1902-Wright-glider_262.jpg)
While you're in the air, you must keep the wings level and the nose
into the wind. If a wing dips, you must immediately raise it or the
glider will turn at an angle to the winds. Dudley Mead, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/34_Trying-to--bring-left-wing-of-1902-Wright-Glider-up_262.JPG)
The left wing has dipped and Capt. Alexander has thrown his hips to
the right, moving the hip cradle and warping the wings so the left
wing produces more lift than the right.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/35_Coming-in-for-a-landing-in-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
A low wing is especially dangerous close to the ground. Here Major
Dawne Dunlap comes in for a landing with the right wing too low.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/37_Catching-a-wingtip-in-sand-with-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
And here Major Dunlap catches the left wing in the sand. The glider
will pivot on its left wing tip and slam the pilot into the dune.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/36_About-to-touch-down-in-1902-Wright-Glider_262.JPG)
Ideally, the glider should touch the sand with the wings level and
the nose level with the tail. Here the nose is a little low, but
Dudley Mead still pulled off a good landing.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/38_Bad-landing-in-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
Capt. Jim Alexander did not on this run. The nose and the left wing
were a little low and both caught in the sand, pitching Capt.
Alexander out of the cockpit.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/43_Fixing-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
Although it appears fragile, the 1902 glider is survived most of
these hard landings without a scratch. Occasionally something would
break, but we could patch the glider within minutes.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/39_Perfect-landing-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
Lt. Commander Klaus Ohman makes a perfect landing – or about as
perfect as you can get in the 1902 Wright Glider. The wings, nose,
and tail are dead level, allowing you to scrape your belly in the
sand.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/40_Moments-after-landing-1902-Wright-glider_262.JPG)
The flights go by so fast, it's hard to learn while you're in the
air. Sometimes after a landing – good or bad – it helps to review
the flight for a moment. Lt. Commander Klaus Ohman, pilot.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/41_Taking-1902-Wright-glider-home_262.JPG)
Time to go. The flight crew carries the 1902 Wright Glider back to
our tent/hangar.
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![](./1902 Wright Glider_files/42_Sunset-and-1902-Wright-Glider_262.JPG)
Sunset at Jockey's Ridge.
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