Wright brothers' plane to rest on ground once again

WASHINGTON -- The plane made famous 100 years ago by Orville and Wilbur Wright will make another historic landing later this year.

For the first time, the Wright brothers' plane will be displayed for close-up public view on the ground. The plane currently hangs high above the giant lobby entrance to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

Shortly after Labor Day, the plane -- restored by Orville Wright and later restored again by the Smithsonian in 1984 -- will be moved to a new exhibit in the museum commemorating the 100-year anniversary of manned flight. The plane will rest on sand similar to that of the Kitty Hawk, N.C. beach where it first took to the air and will be the centerpiece of an interactive exhibit that features 150 artifacts and 250 photographs from various collections around the world.

"We're really going to be able to maximize the power of the Wright flyer that way," said Peter Jakab, exhibition curator. "Our visitors will be able to see that object like they never have."

The exhibit will also prominently feature scenes from the brothers' hometown of Dayton, Ohio, including a colorful facade of their home and the bicycle shop where they endlessly tinkered with their inventions. The wrought-iron fence that will surround the plane display is inspired by the ironwork of the fence in front of the Wright home in Dayton.

"There are many reasons for Daytonians to be proud of Dayton," said Dayton native Tom Crouch, senior curator of the aeronautics division of the National Air and Space Museum. "One of the most important moments in 20th century history began there." Crouch is co- author of a companion book to the exhibit published by the National Geographic Society.

"The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age" is expected to open on Oct. 11 and run for two years. The exhibition is one of two events sanctioned by the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission, created to commemorate the Wright brothers' 12-second, 120-foot journey of the first powered aircraft on Dec. 17, 1903.

The plane is 60 to 70 percent original, Jakab said. Orville Wright changed the fabric on the wings before he donated the plane to the Science Museum in London in 1928. Some engine parts have also been replaced over time. Smithsonian received the plane in 1948.

In addition to the 1903 plane, the 5,400-square-foot museum will also feature the stopwatch used to time the first powered flights, one of only five Wright-built bicycles in existence, Wilbur Wright's letters to the Smithsonian in 1899 requesting publications on aviation, Orville Wright's mandolin, report cards from the brothers' early years and wood and fabric from the Wright flyer carried to the moon in 1969 by Apollo 11.

The acquisition of some of the artifacts from other institutions surprised Jakab, given that many will want to celebrate the anniversary.

Jakab said the Wright brothers' exhibit will serve as a "nice historical bookend" to the journey of flight as 21st-century scientists consider supersonic airliners and manned missions to Mars.

About 9 million people visit the National Air and Space Museum annually, making it the most visited at the Smithsonian.

Copyright C 2003 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.