Most everyone knows that on December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers flew a heavier than air machine for the first time at Kitty Hawk. Most people however, don’t realize all the details that immediately led up to that event. The road to Kitty Hawk began on this day, September 18, 1903 at the Dayton railroad station.
It took a good bit of time to pack their new flying machine, making sure all of the wood struts, ribs, guy wires, enough muslin material to cover all the machines surfaces, and of course the new engine. Everything the brothers would need to completely assemble the flying machine among the sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills on the outer banks of North Carolina. Once they arrived here there would be no machine shop where they could quickly repair a broken rod or re-thread a bolt, even getting a piece of lumber requiring an extended trip by boat across the bay.
Up to that point, their flying machine had never been assembled– it was too large for their machine and bike shop. They did assemble the center section, but even that took up so much room in the shop, that it became almost impossible for them to work on the machine and wait on bicycle customers.
Orville and Wilbur Wright packed their new “whopper flying machine” as they called it, into crates they estimated to weigh around 675 pounds (all assembled the flying machine would weigh 750 pounds). It was a lot of weight to be lifted into the air by their little 4-cylinder cast aluminum engine of their own design. The engine block had been cast for them, but everything else they machined and fitted themselves, an amazing accomplishment in itself since neither brother had any experience even working on a gasoline engine.
Once they successfully completed and tested their new engine, work shifted to the final phase before heading to Kitty Hawk: make the propellers. The brothers spent much time working out the intricate details of building a propeller that could actually move their flying machine forward. Like many of the things the brothers were doing, building a proper propeller had not yet been successfully accomplished and everything they could read about the subject, went against the information they had obtained from their tests.
In the end they decided they needed two 8.5 foot propellers made from laminated spruce. Five years later almost to the day a similar wood propeller would shatter during a test flight at Fort Myer and cause the plane to crash into the ground head first killing passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge and seriously injuring Orville.
But on this day in 1903, the brothers were confident but careful. They had conducted all the tests they could imagine and they believed they were ready. It was the beginning of a trip that began many years before and they were now on the verge of reaching that first major stop along that journey that would consume the rest of their lives.
Over the past 3 years Wilbur and his younger brother Orville had made the long train ride to Elizabeth City 3 times. Usually, Wilbur accompanied the crates, but this year the crates were traveling without him. They would be waiting in a warehouse in Elizabeth City when both brothers arrived less than a week later.
Once in Elizabeth City, the brothers checked on their crates. From Elizabeth City they sailed down the Pasquotank River then across the Albernarle Sound to Kitty Hawk. It was a little less than 40 miles, but could be a harrowing trip depending on the weather.
On Wilbur’s first trip to Kitty Hawk in 1900, the 40 mile trip took 2 days when a storm slashed the sails on the rickety sailing sloop Wilbur had hired to get him and his crates over to Kitty Hawk. Wilbur spent most of that first night bailing water from the ship just to help keep it from sinking. This year the weather was better and the trip over to Kitty Hawk less harrowing.
When the brothers arrived in Kitty Hawk in September 1903, they found storms from the previous year had caused some damage to their shed–it had been moved several feet from where it had been the previous year, but the glider they left inside was in good shape and quickly prepared for some more flying. When the weather took a turn for the better, a perfect day for gliding, they dragged the glider up to the big sand hill. Here they took 30 – 40 glides with one of those lasting 43 seconds and traveling 450 feet.
After these glides, the brothers were refreshed and ready for what lay before them: assembling their new flying machine. It would take about almost a month before the frames were properly assembled. On November 2 they began the delicate work of placing the engine on their machine. While work continued on mounting the engine they found the shafts for the chain sprockets needed to be changed. Those shafts had to be sent back to Dayton for repairs where Charlie Taylor, their machinist, could make repairs.
As the October came and went, the brothers worked diligently. Good friend, engineer and aviation pioneer, 71 year old Oscar Chanute made his way out to the Kill Devil Hills. He wanted to see what the brothers had accomplished since they last talked. Oscar studied what they had put together so far, but wasn’t convinced it would be good enough to get them aloft. Somewhat disappointed, Oscar left after visiting for two days. The brothers continued on assembling their flying machine.
Toward the end of November the new drive shafts arrived from Dayton. During some initial testing the new shafts cracked. Orville decided to go back to Dayton and make the new shafts himself. He left on November 30. Orville would not be back until Friday, December 11. Glad to see Orville again, the brothers began making the final adjustments through Saturday. On Sunday as was their normal routine, the brothers did no work. On Monday, December 14, everything was ready for their first test flight.
After a coin flip it was decided that Wilbur would make the first flight. With everything set, the engine was started. Gliding down the rail the machine lifted when Wilbur pulled back on the rudder causing the plane to rise too quickly and it lost momentum and began to stall. Wilbur then over corrected bringing it back down and crashing into the sand.
What could have been a catastrophic event was met with cheers. It had worked! The motor, the rail, the propellers, everything worked– it was just the pilot that needed some adjustment. Damage to the machine was minor but it would take a little time to fix. On Wednesday afternoon all was set and it was decided the following day they would try once more, but this time Orville would try his hand at the controls. Confident they had everything under control, the following day, Thursday, December 17, 1903 would certainly be a day worth remembering.