Last updated: August 3, 2021
Place
7 - Getting Off the Ground
NPS
WAYSIDE TITLE: Getting off the Ground.
WAYSIDE LAYOUT: Landscape-oriented rectangular panel featuring a black band across the top. The black band has text that reads, “Wright Brothers National Memorial” and “National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.” The panel features full panel image of an artistic rendering of the 1903 flyer as if the viewer is looking down the rail at the back of the flyer taking off. On the bottom left is a small block of text and on the bottom right is a large block of text.
VIEW FROM WAYSIDE: Directly in front of the wayside is the reconstructed launching rail. Forty feet ahead is the first flight boulder and in the distance the first flight line.
DESCRIPTION: The panel is filled with a large colored drawing of the 1903 flyer as if it were in motion about to lift off. The view looks down the length of the launching monorail at the rudder and rear of the flyer. The propellers are blurred, indicating movement. Orville can be seen lying down, piloting the flyer in the center, while Wilbur is running along the right wing, holding on as it takes off. There are callouts pointing to the dolly, located below the flyer, and the Launch rail, which is below the dolly.
TEXT #1: The Launch Rail & Dolly. The soft sand was not a good “runway.” The brothers build a 60-foot wooden rail with metal stripping to provide a hard and smooth surface for takeoff. A dolly of wood and bicycle hubs was placed on the rail to hold the flyer above the sand as it accelerated forward to liftoff.
TEXT #2: Getting off the Ground. After four years of scientific research and rigorous experimentation, and with their 1903 Flyer on the rail, the Wrights are set to fly. In unison, they each pull down on a propeller. The engine roars to life and the propellers whip through the air; only a restraining wire keeps the flyer in place. Orville climbs onto the machine and positions himself into the hip-cradle. He releases the restraining wire and the machine slowly moves forward. Wilbur runs alongside to steady the machine. After traveling 40 feet down the rail, the flyer lifts into the air, ushering in the Age of Flight.
WAYSIDE LAYOUT: Landscape-oriented rectangular panel featuring a black band across the top. The black band has text that reads, “Wright Brothers National Memorial” and “National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.” The panel features full panel image of an artistic rendering of the 1903 flyer as if the viewer is looking down the rail at the back of the flyer taking off. On the bottom left is a small block of text and on the bottom right is a large block of text.
VIEW FROM WAYSIDE: Directly in front of the wayside is the reconstructed launching rail. Forty feet ahead is the first flight boulder and in the distance the first flight line.
DESCRIPTION: The panel is filled with a large colored drawing of the 1903 flyer as if it were in motion about to lift off. The view looks down the length of the launching monorail at the rudder and rear of the flyer. The propellers are blurred, indicating movement. Orville can be seen lying down, piloting the flyer in the center, while Wilbur is running along the right wing, holding on as it takes off. There are callouts pointing to the dolly, located below the flyer, and the Launch rail, which is below the dolly.
TEXT #1: The Launch Rail & Dolly. The soft sand was not a good “runway.” The brothers build a 60-foot wooden rail with metal stripping to provide a hard and smooth surface for takeoff. A dolly of wood and bicycle hubs was placed on the rail to hold the flyer above the sand as it accelerated forward to liftoff.
TEXT #2: Getting off the Ground. After four years of scientific research and rigorous experimentation, and with their 1903 Flyer on the rail, the Wrights are set to fly. In unison, they each pull down on a propeller. The engine roars to life and the propellers whip through the air; only a restraining wire keeps the flyer in place. Orville climbs onto the machine and positions himself into the hip-cradle. He releases the restraining wire and the machine slowly moves forward. Wilbur runs alongside to steady the machine. After traveling 40 feet down the rail, the flyer lifts into the air, ushering in the Age of Flight.