Main Site : News

April 16, 2002
USU Students to Present Design Plans for Wright Flyer Replica

By Mary-Ann Muffoletto
USU Public Relations

LOGAN, UTAH -- More than 4,000 hours of effort have gone into the design and Utah State University engineering students are ready to share their plans for building a full-scale replica of the 1905 Wright Flyer, constructed of space age composites.

The presentation will be held Tuesday, April 23, from 5 to 6 p.m. in room 120 of the Cazier Science and Technology Library on the Utah State campus. The event is free and open to the public.

"I'm so proud of this team," said Nick Alley, USU graduate student and leader of the 12-member undergraduate design team. "I couldn't have picked a better, more motivated group of engineers if I'd tried."

The USU Wright Flyer design team consists of senior mechanical engineering students and aviation technology students, who are building the replica as their capstone undergraduate project.

Kevlar and graphite, composites manufactured in Utah and used in the space shuttles and next-generation rockets and military aircraft, will replace the muslin and spruce used in the original flyer. "Other groups are building replicas using original materials," said David Widauf, associate professor in the Industrial Technology and Education Department of Utah State's College of Engineering and executive director for the replica project. "We thought, 'Why not build a replica with locally produced materials that would be available if the Wright brothers were constructing an airplane today?"

Utah State University and Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) announced plans in August 2001 to build the futuristic replica in honor of the 100th anniversary of powered flight. The two-year project, which includes an upcoming series of educational outreach projects by USU College of Education students and USU Extension personnel, will culminate in the flight of the aircraft at the Inventing Flight: Dayton 2003 celebration in Ohio in July of that year.

At Tuesday's presentation, the team will display a quarter scale model of the replica that was presented to Utah legislators and visitors to the Olympic games at several display venues. The group placed second with their presentation, "The Wright Way to Fly," at the Western Regional American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Student Conference, hosted by Utah State April 4-6.