Countdown To Kitty Hawk: Prop Copies Complete Successful NASA Wind Tunnel Tests

Reproduction of the Wright Brothers' 1904 prop in the Langley full scale wind tunnel.

The Aerospace Engineering Department at Old Dominion University announced on January 23 that test results on the1903 Wright Brothers propeller reproduction were in "excellent agreement" with the original data recorded by Orville and Wilbur Wright. The Discovery of Flight Foundation’s aircraft production team, led by Ken Hyde of 'The Wright Experience', tested their hand-constructed reproduction of the first prop to propel a sustained, powered flight at NASA’s Full-Scale Wind Tunnel in December. They also tested a 1904 prop reproduction.

ODU professors Dr. Robert L. Ash, Dr. Stanley J. Miley, and Dr. Drew Landman led the Langley test teams.

"The Wright Experience has been able to capture the geometrical and manufacturing details of a suite of Wright Brothers’ propeller reproductions," said Dr. Ash. "The static thrust measurements produced by the propeller reproductions are in excellent agreement with the thrust measurements for the ’03 and ’04 propellers recorded by Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1903 and 1905."

Wilbur and Orville Wright tested their ’03 propellers on November 21 and November 28, 1903. They also measured the performance during their fourth flight of the ’03 Flyer on December 17, 1903. Their notebook entry for November 21, 1903, shows that they recorded a static thrust between 132 and 136 pounds (for 2 propellers) when their engine-driven propellers were turning at 350 rpm.

The ’03 reproduction, tested at a nominal rotational speed of 350 rpm, measured a thrust of 64.2 pounds. The Wright Brothers’ static thrust measurements were 67.1 pounds at a rotational speed of 350 rpm.

Larry Parks works on the1903 propeller reproduction.

"This is a significant step toward unlocking the engineering secrets of the Wright brothers," said Tom Poberezny, EAA President. "It’s just one of the many innovations by the Wrights that now must be rediscovered to make the centennial flight a reality. Ken Hyde and The Wright Experience have dedicated themselves to uncovering the past for this reproduction and flight."

"We were very pleased, but not surprised, that both thrust coefficient plots showed very good to excellent agreement between the Wright Brothers’ measurements and the measurements taken during the current test series," said Hyde, who credited Larry Parks and Dave Meyer for their key technical contributions to the propeller construction.

"Larry’s expertise and knowledge of turn-of-the-century woodworking were invaluable to the manufacturing of the ’03 propeller," Hyde said. "He was able to determine the woodworking strokes actually employed on the original propeller and then copy them in reproducing the 1903 propeller."

An expert on circa-1900 woodworking tools and woodworking techniques, Parks was loaned to The Wright Experience from BAE Systems Space Electronics and Communications Division. Using his expertise, The Wright Experience was able to identify the specific woodworking tools – hatchet, drawknife, spokeshave and gouges – utilized by the Wright Brothers.

Meyer, of The Wright Experience team, supervised the computer imaging and evaluation of both original 1903 and 1904 propellers. He also designed and built tooling and templates for Parks, as well as consulted with Parks as the carving progressed.

EAA has commissioned The Wright Experience to build an authentic Wright 1903 Flyer reproduction for its Countdown to Kitty Hawk celebration in honor of the 100^th anniversary of powered flight. The National Park Service has designated this reproduction as the only aircraft allowed to fly on the historic Wright brothers’ First Flight Path, precisely at 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2003.