Happy Wright Brothers Day

[Green Goggles]

On 17 December 1903 Orville Wright became the first person to successfully fly a heavier-than-air machine under complete control of the pilot.
The flight covered 120 feet in 12 seconds, at a speed of only 6.8 mph, and was recorded in this famous photograph:

[Joe LaMantia]

I know they used goggles back in the early days through WWII. I wonder if Orvilles' were green?

Joe

Merry Christmas

[Bill Greenwood]

I wonder how many of you folks have tried to fly the Wright Flyer simulator that EAA/Ford built and had a Osh and Sun N Fun a few years back.

If you think you are a great pilot , go give that one a try. I didn't see anyone that could do it on the first try, and I recall seeing Patty Wagstaff and asking her to come give it a try. See said that she had already heard all about it and was waiting until there wasn't a crowd there so that she could slip in incognito and not be embarred in front of a lot of folks.

There are really at least two secrets to flying it, one major one and one smaller. I won't give either away, but go try it when and if you can. It is one of the highlights of all my years at EAA, and gives you even more respect for those guys having the Wright Stuff, not just as boffins (designer builders) but as pilots.

After a few tries I did manage to get a couple of short flights after a fashion.

It was great the year that AOPA had their convention in Dayton and to see the historic places and to walk in the footsteps of genius.

[Mayhemxpc]

I have tried it. No comment about the effect on my pride as a pilot. I think that it might really help if you had never flown a real airplane before -- or even a flight simulator. It reminded me a little (just a little) of airline simulator training where you split the controls. (I wonder if anyone has ever successfully landed a real airliner in a real emergency in that configuration.)

[Bill Greenwood]

Do you know what Wilbur said to Orville just before takeoff on that first flight?

"Enjoy this before the FAA gets here to screw things up".

Ok, I admit that I didn't make that up , I saw it on another site, but it is funny and like so much of the best humor it is an exaggeration but has an element of truth.