"Dave Stadt" wrote in message .com...


The original Wright Flyer is no more. What hangs in the Smithsonian was
pieced together well after the wreck on Dec. 17, 1903. There are three sets
of blue prints, all drawn well after the fact and all of them have problems.

As of last weekend it's not even hanging. For the first time in a at least a
quarter century, the flyer is down on the floor in a newly opened gallery at
NASM. They also have some actors doing Wilbur and Orville impressions
(they put their costumes and make up on in the same space Margy uses
for her office there).

The WE people not only looked at the flyer but many other contemporary
Wright artifacts to understand the technologies involved. I'm sure this is
as close as we're going to come.