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1899 Wright Kite
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 rville
Wright described Wilbur's test: "This model consisted of superposed planes [i.e., a
biplane] measuring five feet from tip to tip and about thirteen inches from front to rear.
The model was built and, as I remember it, was tested in the latter part of July, 1899....
I was not myself present." This was a steerable kite built to test if a particular
implementation of wing warping was effective in controlling the roll axis of an airplane.
Orville took credit for the idea of wing warping, but credited Wilbur with inventing the
implementation of wing warping while twisting a cardboard box. The Wrights used the same
"scissors action" helicoidal wing warping on three full sized gliders 1900-1902.
They hung the kite in the bicycle shop and scavenged pieces for other projects. In 1905,
they burned its remains with other trash.
References:
- Wright, Orville in Kelly, 1953, p 12-13
- Kelly, 1943, p 49
- McFarland, 1953, pp 8-12, 1183.
- Wright, Orville, "How We Invented the Airplane." (from depositions in
Montgomery vs. U.S. 13 Jan 20 and 2 Feb 21; in Kelly, Fred C. (editor) How We Invented the
Airplane, an Illustrated History. Dover Publications, New York, 1953, p 12-13).
- Kelly, Fred C. The Wright Brothers, a Biography. Harcourt, Brace and Co., New York,
1943, p 49.
- McFarland, Marvin W. (ed) The papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright. McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
New York, 1953, pp 8-12, 1183; Orville's illustrations of the 1899 Kite are on pages 9-10.
[Submitted by Joe W. McDaniel]
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Wilbur built this kite in 1899 to test whether warping the wings would roll the
craft right and left. The kite was controlled from the ground by four cables attached to
two sticks.
The kite had a small horizontal tail attached to back middle strut. This was
the last flying machine built by the Wrights to have a horizontal tail in the back until
nearly a decade late, when the began to manufacture the Wright Model B airplane.
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