Ford Funded "Flyer" Flops

Well folks,

So goes it for the Wright Experience boys. A whole lot of sponsor money spent.
An exclusive contract and a great gig. Fame, fortune and all that goes with
it. But in the end, none of it mattered. That good 'ole 1903 did 'em in after
two attempts, which proves two things. First, the Wrights were WAY more
tallented and skilled than anyone realizes. Second, its all about the wind and
sand... or lack thereof.

Fun stuff. I'm looking forward to getting beat to shreds by my 1902 glider one
of these days.

Harry "Hip-Cradle Shaped Bruises" Frey

On 18 Dec 2003 04:39:36 GMT, (Harry Burns) wrote:

Well folks,

So goes it for the Wright Experience boys. A whole lot of sponsor money spent.
An exclusive contract and a great gig. Fame, fortune and all that goes with
it. But in the end, none of it mattered.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong
man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is
marred by dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly; who errs, and
comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and
shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the
great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy
cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and
who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither
victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt

(s'OK, Harry, I know you're in the arena, too. But others might need
reminding....)

Ron Wanttaja

It should be noted that there were successful flights of the flyer reproduction
on the memorial grounds a couple of weeks ago when the weather was better.
The airplane did fly at that time proving that it worked. They just didn't
have Mother Nature on their side this one special day. It is a shame to see
the project reported as a failed flight attempt when it was a true success.

Kevin

Very true Kevin, their machine did fly when the weather was better. It also
crashed when the weather was better. Par for the course when dealing with
Wright machines. Mine almost got away from me several times at Stuart, FL last
month, and did a little flying on its own. My own expedition to KH last
October failed miserabily and I'm still paying it off. Which is why I havn't
flown my '02 yet.

In my book, it all counts. Some machines are better examples than others, but
it all counts... because its just so damned hard to build one. However, there
have been a lot of politics, money, and egos surrounding this little adventure
since 1997 that I won't go into. And if I seem like I'm getting in a few digs,
well, I am. But its on account of factors other than the success or failure of
a certain team's machine. And its all in good fun. I'd have a beer with any
of the other Wright reproduction / replica builders, and welcome the
opportunity to discuss the fine points that are unique to our machines.

Truth be told, Wilbur and Orville Wright were incredibly talented, amazingly
devoted, and tirelessly comitted to designing and building flying machines.
And we have been the benificiaries. I look forward to meeting them when my
time comes. But don't think won't ask Orville what "added springs to our end
twisting mechanism" means.

Harry "hip-cradle induced bruise" Frey