In Depth: The Engine
Odyssey Creation Exhibition and Exile Return Restoration
Facts and Fiction

The 1903 Flyer we know today is not exactly the machine that flew at Kitty Hawk. The story of the machine hanging in the Smithsonian is one of both the brilliant engineering of the Wrights as well as all the confusion and controversy of their achievement.

The Wright Story
1902 glider remainsAn unusual fate?
Education Feature: The First Flight crew...
The Life of the 1903 Flyer
Unlike most Wright experimental machines, the 1903 Flyer was salvaged and returned to Dayton, beginning a long journey of neglect, flood, exile, and, finally, a return to honor.
Flyer, 1903 Creation: The Flyer never had it easy—its construction was beset with problems, and its flying career lasted all of five flights.
Flyer at MIT, 1916 Exhibition and Exile: The machine sat crated in a shed for 13 years. Its years of neglect ended with exhibitions which gave way to a 25-year exile in England.
Flyer return Return: The Flyer's return to the U.S. helped settle an old score, and secure a permanent place of honor.
Restoration Restoration: Thanks to the National Air and Space Museum, the Flyer has come to rest. Their painstaking conservation and preservation of the machine allows us to see "inside" the Wrights' most famous airplane.
©2002, The Wright Experience™

Credits