Dr. Kevin Kochersberger of Honeoye Falls, New York; Terry Queijo of Trappe, Maryland; Ken Hyde of Warrenton, Virginia; and Chris Johnson of Manassas, Virginia.
Dr. Kevin Kochersberger is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Rochester Institute of
Technology and a 1,400-hour pilot. He’s on sabbatical and leading the
testing of the Wright 1901 and 1902 gliders at the Langley Full Scale
Tunnel in Hampton, Virginia. “My whole background is education,” Kevin
says. “What I try to do is show students what incredible innovators the
Wright brothers were. To weave this story into the classroom and the
educational materials is an opportunity of a lifetime.” Holding a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Kevin began flying in 1976 when he built a Rogallo-wing hang glider from plans and flew with the other hang gliding pioneers at Jockeys Ridge in Nags Head, North Carolina. He was 15 years old.
In 1983 he earned his glider rating and two years later his power rating. He currently owns and operates a Piper Arrow and is an active flight instructor with the Blue Ridge Soaring Society. In 1996, Kevin advised a group of students on the construction of an 1896 Chanute-Herring hang glider replica. Before it went on display at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, Kevin had the chance to briefly fly the glider at the site of the original flights—the south shore of Lake Michigan—100 years later.
Data from the tests Kevin is coordinating with the 1901 and 1902 Wright gliders at the Langley Full Scale Tunnel will be used to provide realism to the 1902 Wright Glider flight simulator and estimate handling qualities of the Wright aircraft.
