After its historic flight in 1903, the Flyer was shipped to various museums before it came to rest in the Smithsonian Institution. [Credit: Gary Todd/Wikimedia Commons]
Key Takeaways:
The 1903 Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is the authentic original aircraft, despite public skepticism often due to its well-preserved appearance and numerous replicas.
The aircraft has undergone multiple conservation efforts, including being entirely recovered with new fabric by Orville Wright in 1928 and again by the Smithsonian in 1985.
These conservation projects meticulously replicated the original construction methods and materials, using fabric from the same company that supplied the original, to maintain the Flyer's historical integrity.
“Is it the real one?” That is the most frequently asked question when people see the 1903 Wright Flyer on display in the Wright brothers gallery at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
According to Dorothy Cochrane, the museum’s curator of the aeronautics department, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”
CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT
Sign up to keep reading
Create a free account to continue. Already a member? Sign in below.
Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
