FIRSTFLIGHTCENTENNIAL.ORG

For three years the pair designed gliders. The gliders were both manned and unmanned kites. They studied the competing flight studies of Cayley, Langley, Lilienthal and Chanute. Each flight enthusiast knew the key was in controlling the flying aircraft. In order to get the best results, the Wrights selected Kitty Hawk, North Carolina because of its wind, sand, and hilly terrain as the testing site for their full-sized glider... The Wrights built a fifty pound biplane glider in 1900. It had a 17-foot wingspan and a wing-warping mechanism. It was the first piloted glider, but it was also flown unmanned. The controls and landing gear need refinement. Which the Wrights planned to do in a bigger glider... The Wrights moved their experiments to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. They built and flew their largest glider with a 22-foor wingspan, weighing over 100 pounds. The glider had many problems. The forward elevator could not control the pitch, the wings did not have enough lifting power..