A group of volunteers have completed the first test flight in Ohio of their replica of the Wright Brothers second airplane, developed from what they learned during their history-making first flights on the Outer Banks.
The Dayton Daily News reports the non-profit Wright “B” Flyer Inc. flew their lookalike airplane at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport in southwest Ohio on Saturday.
Wright “B” Flyer Inc. president Don Adams told the Dayton Daily News the flight was the culmination of a five year project.
“The idea behind the build was to have an aircraft that can be broken down and assembled quickly and placed in a shipping container so that we can take it all over the world as requested to share it with the world and to specifically highlight Dayton as the birthplace of aviation,” Adams said.
The first Wright Flyer took to air at Big Kill Devil Hill on December 17, 1903. Seven years later, the Wright’s started producing their Model B at a factory in Dayton.
Wright “B” Flyer Inc. was created in 1982 to celebrate the legacy of the Wright brothers by flying and displaying a modern lookalike of the Model B, and have been flying what they dubbed the “Brown Bird”.
The rise of invitations to display and fly the airplane at international venues together with the aging of the original Wright “B” Flyer lookalike led to an effort starting in 2016 to build a new aircraft.
Adams said volunteers have spent “countless hours” to design, fabricate and build the “White Bird” to modern standards with modern materials and components.
Wright “B” Flyer will continue to test the aircraft this fall and next spring to meet Federal Aviation Administration, requirements according to the Dayton Daily News.
They plan to debut the new flyer to the public at an airshow in Dayton in 2022. And because it can be taken apart and shipped in a container, there are no limits on where the plane could be flown.
“The White Bird will allow us to continue to provide education and entertainment locally, nationally and internationally, sharing the story of the Wright brothers and the invention of manned, powered flight,” Adams said. “We have six pilots trained to fly the Wright ‘B’ Flyer lookalike and they will all be part of the ongoing testing of this aircraft and the subsequent activities we will be requested to do.”
Mackensie Wittmer, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Area, said the lookalike aircraft represents “a new opportunity for the Dayton region” because there is nowhere else in the world that an average person can fly on a Wright lookalike.
Brigadier General Jay Jabour, USAF (Ret) piloted the first flight of the aircraft on Saturday, taking it the length of the 5,000-foot-runway for about 2 minutes, and said it was “pretty exciting.”
“This is just the first baby step,” Jabour said. “We’re lucky because we have innovations in it that the Wright Brothers never dreamed of.”
