Volunteers from Wright “B” Flyer Inc. in Dayton have assembled and taxi-tested lookalikes of two Wright Model “B” Flyers in preparation for the Military Flight Centennial on March 2, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. According to foundation officials, 13 volunteers are taking part in the all-volunteer organization’s biggest ever deployment. The event will celebrate the first military solo flight, Lt. Benjamin Foulois’ first flight from Fort Sam Houston in Army Signal Corps No. 1, a Wright airplane, on March 2, 1910.
The flyable “Brown Bird,” a modern lookalike of the Wright brothers’ first production airplane (pictured), was taxied Sunday, Feb. 28, at Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF). Foundation pilots hoped to make test hops down the runway, but high winds prevented that, said Pilot Rich Stepler. The Brown Bird is being housed in the Texas Air Museum’s Stinson hangar, and museum volunteers are supporting the Brown Bird crew.
Meanwhile, the crew with the non-flying “Yellow Bird,” a close replica of a 1911 Wright Model B flyer, overcame mechanical problems to make a second taxi test on the Fort Sam Houston parade field, where Foulois flew 100 years ago.
For more information: Wright-B-Flyer.org
Hi Janice:
Many thanks for your great article about the birth of military aviation!
Cheers from the Alamo,
Dave Hook