From the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

FAA WAIVES MODERN RULES FOR WRIGHT FLYER REPLICAS



Ken Hyde had an interesting problem. He wanted to test fly two Wright Flyer replicas, one of which is the 1903 Wright Flyer that will take part in the Centennial of Flight commemoration in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, this December, but the small airstrip where he will be doing the testing falls within the Washington Metro Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Since the Wright brothers didn’t think far enough ahead to incorporate radios and transponders in their designs–let alone electrical systems–to meet the ADIZ requirements, Hyde was stuck on the ground. AOPA successfully obtained a waiver on behalf of Hyde with one stipulation: He has to give the federal government a phone call before and after he conducts testing. Hyde, of The Wright Experience, has been working via reverse engineering to cover the evolution of the Wrights' aircraft, from their early gliders to their first production aircraft. At the recent public unveiling of the 1903 Flyer in Washington, D.C., a researcher from Old Dominion University said that based on wind tunnel tests, the airplane is unstable but controllable and should fly.



If you have not heard of The Wright Experience, you're in for a treat. These people aren't just working to build a replica of the 1903 Flyer, they're in the middle of a years-long study of how the Wright Brothers developed their concepts that led to a successful, heavier-than-air controllable airplane. In the pursuit of authenticity, they went so far as to commission special thread to weave the fabric for the wings. Nothing comparable is on the market, so they replicated the original fabric.

You might also want to check out the May edition of Flying magazine. Lane Wallace has an excellect article on the organization and on what it's like to try to fly the simulator.