Building the Airplane

Wilbur wrote to ten different engine manufacturers asking for an engine that weighed less than 180 pounds and produce at least 8 horsepower for his and his brother's airplane they were building. After they realized their was no engine under those speculations and no company was willing to build one they turned to Charlie Taylor. They ended up finishing the engine in six weeks. The brothers did some test on the engine and encountered difficulties, but Taylor had it rebuilt in May, just in time for the 1903 flying season.

This 1903 airplane was the largest that the brothers had ever built. It was 40 feet from wingtip to wingtip. They had to pack up parts and finish building it at Kitty Hawk because of how enormous it was.

The Wright's arrive at Kitty Hawk in September 1903 and began building a new hanger, a sheltered area where planes are built or repaired, for their large aircraft. They encountered some manufacturing problems. In the mean time, they practiced glides with the 1902 glider. By early December all the glitches were figured out and they just had to be patient and wait for the winds to pick up.

Finally on December 14 the winds picked up. The brothers tossed a coin to see who would fly first; Orville won. The brothers, along with the life saving crew, were ready to fly. They started the engine, but the plane took off without Orville and quickly reached 15 feet before it stalled and came crashing down. Orville was unfamiliar with the controls and accidentally tried to climb higher in the air before he should have. At this point it was clear the plane would fly once it was fixed.