This collection consists of a series of 68 "Field Reports" completed by Frank T. Coffyn logging flight activities of Wright (Brothers) aircraft, for the period from May 5, 1910, through February 24, 1911
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a series of 68 "Field Reports" completed by Frank T. Coffyn logging flight activities of Wright (Brothers) aircraft, for the period from May 5, 1910, through February 24, 1911. (One report is for March 26, 1917, and appears to list Coffyn's flights for that day.) The reports were completed on preprinted forms with columns for "Machine Number, Operator [pilot]," "Passenger," "Time of Flight," "Wind Direction," "Wind Velocity," "Length of Flight (Time and Distance)," and "Remarks." Spaces were also provided for Date, Gasoline Used, and Oil Used, and a signature. Fifty-six of the reports are signed by Frank Coffyn; the remaining sixteen appear to be in Coffyn's handwriting. Most are carbon copies. The reports cover flights made at Huffman Prairie, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Montreal, Canada; Atlantic City and Asbury Park, New Jersey; Hartford, Connecticut; and Augusta, Georgia. Besides Orville and Wilbur Wright, most of the pilots and passengers listed were students who became members of the Wright Exhibition Team. Pilots and passengers include: Griffith Brewer, Walter Brookins, William Starling Burgess, Frank Coffyn, Arch Hoxsey, Ralph Johnstone, Duval LaChapelle, Albert B. Lambert (President St. Louis Aero Club), Phillip O. Parmalee, Norman Prince, Frank H. Russell (first manager of the Wright Co.), Charlie Taylor, and Arthur L. "Al" Welsh [spelled by Coffyn throughout as "Welch"], and Lorin Wright. Most notable is the report of May 25, 1910, which lists the only flight Orville and Wilbur Wright made together, and the first and only flight taken by their father, Bishop Milton Wright. Remarks include notes on modifications and damage to the aircraft, reasons for takeoff failures, and (in some cases) altitude attained in flight. Additional notes on the earlier reports record total flight hours to date for several of the pilots.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged at the item level; pages from log are displayed chronologically.
Biographical / Historical:
Wilbur Wright was born April 16, 1867, his brother Orville Wright on August 19, 1871. They, along with sister Katharine and brothers Reuchlin and Lorin, were raised near Millville, Indiana and in Dayton, Ohio by their mother, Susan Wright, and father, Milton Wright, bishop of the United Brethren Church. As young men, Wilbur and Orville launched a printing business and a bicycle shop. An interest in aeronautics, spurred by the accounts of the experiments of Otto Lilienthal, prompted Wilbur to request information on the subject from the Smithsonian Institution in 1899. In August of 1900, Wilbur built his first glider and that year and the next the brothers tested gliders at Kitty Hawk. The Wrights constructed a wind tunnel to gather accurate aeronautical data and, benefiting from this new information, another glider was built in 1902. In 1903, the brothers were ready to began construction of a powered craft. With the assistance of mechanic Charles Taylor, they added a 4-cylinder, 12-horsepower engine and propellers to the 1903 Flyer and it was sent to Kitty Hawk for testing. At 10:35 am, December 17, on Kill Devil Hill, Orville achieved a flight of 12 seconds--traveling a distance of 120 feet. By 1908 the Wrights were demonstrating their machines in Europe. The U.S. Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft and in 1908 and 1909, the Wrights flew at official Army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia. (It was here that powered flight's first fatality occurred: the tragic death of Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.) The Army was to purchase the Military Flyer (Signal Corps No. 1) for {dollar}30,000 in 1909. In that same year, The Wright Company was established to manufacture Wright aircraft. Wilbur died in Dayton, Ohio on May 30,1912. Orville Wright would live until January 30, 1948
Provenance:
Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, NASM.XXXX.0641
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The US Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft and in 1908 and 1909, the Wrights flew the Wright 1908 Military Flyer at official Army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia. This collection consists of 45 black and white photographs, of varying sizes and including some duplicates, taken by photographer W. S. Clime at the 1908-1909 official army trials.
Scope and Contents:
The US Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft and in 1908 and 1909, the Wrights flew the Wright 1908 Military Flyer at official Army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia. On September 17, 1908, Orville Wright and Lieutenant Thomas Etholen Selfridge made a flight as a part of these trials. While in the air, a blade on the propeller broke and the aircraft fell from 75 feet up and landed on Wright and Selfridge. Both men sustained severe injuries. Wright broke a leg and several ribs, and Selfridge was taken off the field unconscious. Selfridge died shortly after the accident from his injuries and became powered flight's first fatality. The Army was to purchase the Wright (Co) Type A Military (Signal Corps No. 1) for $30,000 in 1909.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
This collection consists of 45 black and white photographs, of varying sizes and including some duplicates, taken by photographer W. S. Clime at the 1908-1909 official army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia. Shown in the images are the Wright 1908 Military Flyer in flight and on the ground; the crash that injured Orville Wright and killed Thomas Selfridge; and Thomas S. Baldwin with an Army dirigible. Other persons shown in the photographs include mechanic Charles W. Taylor; Major George O. Squier; Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm; Lieutenant Benjamin D. Foulois; Augustus Post; and Mrs. M. Longworth. The collection also contains one unrelated photograph of A. Roy Knabenshue making a flight over Washington, DC.
Provenance:
A. S. Clime, Gift, Unknown, NASM.XXXX.0904
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
Wright (Co) Type A Military (Signal Corps No. 1) Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographic prints
Citation:
Fort Myer Army Trial Flight Photographs, NASM.XXXX.0904, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This accession includes Taylor's correspondence with his son, Rueben W. Taylor, (1928-1948), and the Garrison Machine Works, (1953-1956), makers of gears used in the Wright flyer engines. The letters to Rueben Taylor are originals, while the Garrison Machine Works correspondence are mostly xerox copies. Also included are brief biographical sketches of Taylor.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Edward Taylor (1868-1956), sometimes referred to as 'the first airplane mechanic,' worked intermittently from 1901 to 1920 for Orville and Wilbur Wright and the Wright-Martin Company. Born in Nebraska in 1868, Taylor built the first engine that powered an airplane in flight, a little four-cylnder, gasoline engine which was used in the Wright 1903 Flyer at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Charles Edward Taylor, II, Gift, 1986, 1987-0006, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of drawings of the 1903 Wright Flyer executed at various times during the life of the aircraft: Science Museum of London Drawings -- commissioned when the aircraft was on loan to the Museum; Ford Drawings -- sponsored by the Ford Motor Company which were supervised by Orville Wright and Charles Taylor; Christman Drawings -- drafted by Louis Christman who consulted with Orville Wright and other sources; and the National Air and Space Museum Drawings -- commissioned by the Museum during the 1985 restoration of the Wright 1903 Flyer. These drawings include three view drawings as well as both the airframe and engine components.
Biographical / Historical:
The Wright 1903 Flyer holds a special place in aviation history as the vehicle in which mankind first achieved controlled, powered, and sustained flight. The Wrights made no drawings of the aircraft when they originally built it and they continuously modified the craft during flight tests. The aircraft also underwent modifications due to damage suffered following its last flight, and the reconstruction work of 1916 and 1925-1927. Thus, there will always be some doubt about the exact configuration of the aircraft during the 1903 flights.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASM, Science Museum of London, Ford Museum, Gift/Transfer, 1986-0152, Some NASM
Restrictions:
Some restrictions on distribution.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
