April 2004 Pic of the Month
Transportation Replicas 

In one of the most famous photographs ever taken, Orville Wright takes off in the original Wright Flyer during its first flight in 1903, as Wilbur Wright runs along beside. Photo ID P.188.22016

Ken Kellett’s 1978 Wright Flyer replica, installed in the Heroes of the Sky exhibit.

In the late 1990s, The Henry Ford decided to create a new aviation exhibit, scheduled to open in 2003, the centennial of the Wrights' first flight. But we had no Wright aircraft in our collection. In fact, only a handful of early Wright planes still existed, and none of the museums that owned them were about to part with them. If we wanted a Wright plane, we would have to get a replica.

Several non-flying replicas of the 1903 plane existed, but only one flying replica had ever been built. In 1978, Ken Kellett built a fully operational replica, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Wright’s flight. The only major difference between Kellett’s plane and the original was the engine. Rather than try to duplicate the Wrights’ temperamental 1903 design, Kellett used a modern engine of similar horsepower (10-12). Kellett also learned how tricky the plane was to fly. His 23 flights in the plane totaled only 4 minutes in the air. Still, this made him the world’s highest-time Wright Flyer pilot. Wilbur had only 1 minute and 12 seconds in the original plane, and Orville’s two flights consumed only 27 seconds. We purchased the replica from Kellett, and he built a non-running mockup of the original Wright engine, to give our display a better appearance.

Our new exhibit, Heroes of the Sky, opened in September 2003, with Kellett’s plane as a centerpiece. But we were soon to acquire a second replica! A group called The Wright Experience (www.wrightexperience.com), under the leadership of Ken Hyde, was attempting to re-create the Wright brothers’ entire inventive experience, from their early experiments with kites and gliders to building a flying 1903 Wright Flyer replica, complete with working engine. Ford Motor Company, the major sponsor of Hyde’s effort, offered to give us the plane after its commemorative flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 2003. Hyde’s plane flew several times before December 17, but rain and a lack of wind kept the anniversary flight attempts from being successful. Kellett had run into similar problems 25 years earlier, proving just how challenging the Wrights’ first flight was.

The 100th anniversary replica now resides in our aviation exhibit, while the 75th anniversary plane is scheduled to be hung in the lobby of our IMAX theater, where it will greet visitors as they enter Henry Ford Museum.