The Wright Flyer on 12/17/2003
If wishes were wind,
the Wright Flyer built by Ken Hyde and flown by Kevin Kochersberger
would still be soaring across the country. It wouldn't have needed
an engine, or props, or even Bernoulli's law.
34,200 people came to Kill Devil Hill on a rainy Wednesday
morning to watch history re-made. They left with soggy shoes,
perhaps tinged with disappointment, but many realized that not
every flight of an experimental aircraft will do what the designer,
or pilot, or crowd would want.
They cheered wildly when the Flyer was rolled from it's hangar,
and again when the engine was started. They applauded and screamed
at the end of the first attempt around 12:30pm. The die-hard
airplane romantics and history buffs stayed through another
rainstorm and cold front, and rollout and engine start, but the
notorious wind of Carolina's outer banks had, for once, failed.
Ken Hyde told reporters in a post flight news conference "I'm
not disappointed at all…I'm proud of the team, they've taken
pride in everything we've done. This has been very rewarding. The
electricity and enthusiasm of the people has been
unbelievable."
Kevin Kochersberger pretty much echoed those thoughts: "I was
honored to be a part of the project. This has been an inspiration
on how to solve problems, and gives you a greater appreciation of
what the Wright Brothers really did."
As to the actual flight attempts on Wednesday, pilot
Kochersberger said it brought "Strong emotion. These flights are
measured in seconds, and we analyze videotape to see how well they
work. As you move down the track, the pilot is doing three things
at once. You're watching for a mark on the track that indicates
where you should rotate your canard. As you break ground, you have
to correct your pitch, keep the wings level, and know that you
can't climb too quickly, so you're dropping the canard.
Today… we were shy on wind and engine power."
Various estimates peg the humidity as sharing some of the blame.
Ken Hyde said "The high humidity cost us between 25 and 50 rpm on
the props…the wind just died as we launched." As for the
3:30 attempt "The people did get to see it run."
EAA President Tom Poberezny said "Try to see this in
context…today launches the second century of flight. I just
heard about Burt Rutan's flight of Spaceship One, hitting Mach One
and 68,000 feet."
At the end of it all, Ken Hyde was asked if he planned to come
back to Kitty Hawk next year. He said "I haven't thought about it
yet… but it's a possibility."