The Airplane - Jay Spenser [68]
Arriving there in September, Wilbur found wood for spars, but it was pine, not spruce, and shorter than he had planned. It would have to do. Working in Kitty Hawk, he took the ribs, struts, wires, and fittings he had already prepared and completed the glider, covering it with a fine-weave fabric. Orville arrived at the end of the month and the brothers set up a camp at Kill Devil Hills, a remote area four miles south.
The “hills” were three bare sand dunes, one higher than the rest. This biggest was called Kill Devil Hill, leading to the confusing situation of both a singular and plural of the same place name being in use. Beyond the hills a flat expanse of open sand extended left and right for a considerable distance, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast.
The Wright 1900 Glider had a wingspan of 17 feet (5.2 meters) and featured a forward elevator. Wilbur may have placed it there because a shorter and simpler control linkage was required than for a rear elevator. Since they were there to learn, he may also have opted for a forward location because he wanted to observe the elevator’s performance in flight. Whatever the reason, this glider set the pattern for all subsequent Wright machines and also influenced European practice.
Tested throughout October 1900, this machine was flown primarily as a kite controlled from the ground because it generated so much less lift than hoped. Nevertheless, before striking camp at the end of the month, the brothers dragged it over to Kill Devil Hill, where Wilbur made a dozen or so free flights, providing at least a brief taste of flying.
Although the 1900 Glider flew poorly and was less than controllable in gusty conditions, its elevator worked well for pitch control. Wilbur found he could skim low, staying just above the sand and controlling his height precisely to set gently down where desired. As for the wing warping system, it worked well in tests from the ground, but they disabled it for Wilbur’s glides. Tests of this lateral-control system would have to wait for the next season’s flying with an improved model.
Kitty Hawk’s residents next saw the Wrights in the summer of 1901, when they returned for a longer flying season. They assembled their second manned glider right at camp. This new machine was similar overall but larger than the previous glider. It had a wingspan of 22 feet (6.7 meters), a chord of 7 feet (2.1 meters), and 75 percent more lifting area. With a total weight of 98 pounds (44.5 kilograms), it could be carried by two men, although trudging up a sandy hill with it was hot, tiring work.
Like the previous machine, the Wright 1901 Glider had no tail and the center of its lower wing had a gap so that Wilbur could stand up until ready to fly. At that point, with Orville and a local helper running alongside to steady the wingtips, Wilbur would tuck his legs up and hook his ankles over a supporting spar.
The Wrights were disappointed to find the new glider’s lift and longitudinal stability were not as good as those of the previous year’s machine. Performing modifications at camp, they reduced the wing camber and stiffened its wings overall, which they realized were distorting under the pressures of flight.
Thus revised, the glider flew quite well. Many flights exceeded 300 feet (91 meters) in length, and the longest stretched 389 feet (119 meters). Despite these achievements, however, their troubles were far from over, because a bizarre new problem appeared when they finally tested wing warping in flight.
On the Wright 1901 Glider, wing warping was controlled by the feet, which rested on a T-bar as