| NASA Center: |
Headquarters |
|---|
| Image # : |
cc-413 |
|---|
| Date : |
09/03/1908
|
|---|
|
Title
Wright Flyer Test Flights at Fort Myer, VA
Full Description
The Wright Flyer demonstrations at Fort Myer, Virginia on
September 3, 1908.
In January 1907 the Wright Brothers submitted a bid to the U.S.
War Department to design a plane for $25,000. This bid came as a
response to a War Department request issued a month earlier for a
"Heavier-than-air Flying Machine." While Wilbur Wright went off
to Paris to promote the Wright Flyer, Orville Wright stayed in
Dayton, Ohio to design a plane for the Army Signal Corps. By
August Orville's plane was ready and he headed to Fort Myer,
Virginia, where the air trials were to take place. From August
20, 1908, to September 17, 1908, Orville performed test flights
for the Army. On September 17th a split propeller caused the
plane to crash, injuring Orville and killing his passenger,
Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.
In spite of the crash the Army believed that the Wright plane
would work. In July 1909, when Orville was able to fly again,
he completed the test flights and surpassed all of the Army's
requirements for a military plane: to carry a passenger for at
least 125 miles at a speed of 40 miles per hour and stay aloft
for at least one hour, easily transportable, controllable and
steerable at all times and in all directions, and land without
damage. On August 2, 1909, the Signal Corps accepted the Wright
Flyer as the world's first military aircraft, naming it Signal
Corps Airplane No. 1.
Keywords
Orville Wright Wilbur Wright Army Signal Corps Wright Flyer Fort Myer Selfridge
Subject Category
Unique Aircraft, Early Aerospace-Pioneers,
Reference Numbers
- Center:
HQ
- Center Number:
cc-413
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2002-000124
Source Information
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
JPEG |
85 |
62 |
8 |
Small |
JPEG |
602 |
440 |
190 |
Medium |
JPEG |
1412 |
1032 |
874 |
Large |
JPEG |
1 |
2063 |
4,056 |
Publication Information
For more information on the Ft. Myer test flights please
visit
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/
Other relevant NASA Web sites:
• NASA Headquarters
• NASA History Office
• NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
• NASA Multimedia Gallery
• NASA Human Spaceflight
Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn. Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
• NASA's Privacy Statement
|
