Wright model B crash on Nova

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

December 17, 1903 flight 5 at which time it done did _turn_ itself into a
pile of scrap wood.


There were only four flights on December 17, 1903. The Flyer received minor
damage on the fourth flight. They were discussing repairs prior to a
possible fifth flight when a gust of wind picked up the Flyer and rolled it
into a ball.

Corky Scott wrote:

He was halfway down the runway and for some reason felt he had to make
a decision about whether to takeoff or not. This is the part I don't
understand. Why did he have to takeoff or not? Couldn't he have
simply shut the engine down?


He said that he knew he wouldn't have been able to stop in time without
hitting trees, so he elected to take-off instead.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

"Cartoons with a Touch of Magic"
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

Corky...

Exactly the question we discussed after the show.

Did not and do not believe the "explanation" and really believe the builder.

Neal

In a previous article, (Corky Scott) said:
He was halfway down the runway and for some reason felt he had to make
a decision about whether to takeoff or not. This is the part I don't
understand. Why did he have to takeoff or not? Couldn't he have
simply shut the engine down?

There was a very quick discussion on the show that he didn't think he
could stop in time to miss crashing into the trees at the end. Given the
choice between a sure crash if he stayed on the ground or a likely crash
if he lifted up, he elected to take off.

Wasn't the Wright B pretty close to the Vin Fizz (which I think was a
modified EX)? In which case, it should have been a pretty capable plane.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"The surreality of the universe tends towards a maximum" -- Skud's Law
"Never formulate a law or axiom that you're not prepared to live with
the consequences of." -- Skud's Meta-Law

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
k.net...

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

December 17, 1903 flight 5 at which time it done did _turn_ itself into
a
pile of scrap wood.


There were only four flights on December 17, 1903. The Flyer received
minor
damage on the fourth flight. They were discussing repairs prior to a
possible fifth flight when a gust of wind picked up the Flyer and rolled
it
into a ball.

Exactly.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message ...


Icebound wrote:

Turning? Was the 1903 Wright Flyer capable of turning???

Yes.

No. It was capapble of small amounts of directional control, pretty much limitted
to adjusting the straight ahead ground track. It didn't have enough control to make
anything that resembles a real turn.