Wright ‘B’ modern flyer is back and backed
The Wright “B” Flyer is the modern lookalike of the Wright brothers’ first production airplane. It has short legs and is arduous to fly. Although this, the plane is going to make the trip to Air Venture this July, but it won’t be doing it by air.
It will make the trip to Air Venture by highways instead of airways. The volunteers of this non-profit organization will with difficulty disassemble the 3,400 pound biplane, carefully load it into a custom trailer and have it hauled overland to Oshkosh. It will then reassembled and displayed both on the ground and in flight.
The non-profit organization is also designing another one-of-kind flyer, designed for easy dis assembly and scaled to fit in a standard shipping container that will allow the organization to show and display the airplane worldwide.
Wright “B” Flyer Inc. has received more than $100,000 towards its $300,000 fundraising goal for the project of build the new Wright B Flyer, with a challenge grant to match up to another $50,000. The fundraising campaign recently advanced with the donation of a steel container by Benedict Tractor and Containers Inc. (BEI) of Monroe, Ohio. Wright “B” Flyer estimates the donation saved it more than $4,000.
According to the Wright “B” Flyer President William J. “Like the current “B”, the new airplane will resemble the original, 1910-era Wright Model B Flyer, but it will use modern materials and meet modern safety standards. It will be built at the original Wright Company factory in Dayton with support from the National Aviation Heritage Alliance and the Experimental Aircraft Association.” The factory is where the Wright Brothers produced the first Model B Flyers more than a century ago, launching America’s aviation industry.
Photo courtesy: Timothy R. Gaffney, Library of Congress
