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April 23, 2002
Project More Than a Flight of Fancy

By Greg Lavine
The Salt Lake Tribune

USU graduate student Nick Alley, left, and aviation program coordinator Dave Widauf show off a replica of the Wright Flyer.
(Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune)

LOGAN -- Even a century later, Utah State University grad student Nick Alley marvels at the piloting skills of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The wood and canvas biplane -- which sputtered into history at Kitty Hawk, N.C., with the world's first successful powered flight -- was unstable and hard to control.

"It's really amazing the Wright brothers were able to fly it as well as they did," Alley said.

USU is giving one of the first Wright Flyers a 21st century makeover to honor 100 years of powered flight. A USU replica of the 1905 Wright Flyer is slated to fly at the "Inventing Flight" celebration at Dayton, Ohio, in July 2003.

A team of 10 senior engineering students, most of whom
had no experience in aerodynamics, were selected to revamp the Wright brothers' original plans. The 1903 and 1904 Wright biplanes crashed on landing. The 1905 model was the first to have controlled landings.

Wayne Goodrich, a USU engineering student and member of design team works on a quarter- scaled replica of the original Wright Flyer, the Wright Brothers plane that flew the world's first powered flight. A full size version built with modern materials will be built by USU engineering students into a full size plane.
(Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune)

At 5 p.m. today in Room 120 of USU's Cazier Science and Technology Library, the students will present their plans. Part of the presentation will include a flight-worthy, quarter-scale model of the 1905 Wright Flyer. A similar model of the USU version will soon be built to compare flight characteristics of the planes.

"We were asked to redesign it aerodynamically and structurally," said Alley, who led the student-design efforts. "From 50 feet away, we want it to look like the Wright Flyer."

David Widauf, aviation programs coordinator in the industrial technology and education department at USU, said groups elsewhere are building exact replicas. USU sought a more modern approach.

"What if the Wright brothers were alive today?" Widauf said. "What would they have built the plane out of today?"

Carbon-fiber composites and Kevlar-coated foam replace most of the wooden parts of the original biplane.

Amy Hintze, a senior on the project, designed the new cockpit. In 1905, the pilot laid down flat on the wing to control the plane. The new cockpit will move forward and will include a pair of seats.

"Lying on the wing is not good for the stability of the plane," Hintze said.

The trimmed-down USU version is expected to weigh about 400 pounds, vs. the Wright brothers' 700 pounds. USU's flyer will cruise at 45 mph, while the original plodded along at 25 mph.

While the original Wright planes needed a catapult to launch them, the USU craft should take off under its own power.

"It was too good an opportunity to pass up," Alley said. "I've lost sleep over this. It's been really stressful."

The student designers have collectively logged about 4,000 work hours. Some of the soon-to-be-graduating students will stick around this summer to build the plane.

Widauf said USU has big plans for the souped-up biplane. Once the plane is built, it will go on a barnstorming tour of Utah schools.

"Maybe we can light the fire in some kid's eyes to be an engineer," he said.

If money can be found, Widauf would like to show off the plane on the way to or from the Dayton flying festival. Just don't expect to see the Wright Flyer soaring over Interstate 80, as the plane will probably travel via truck.

"We're going to have an airplane flying, hopefully by the
end of summer," Widauf said.


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