Aeroplane Aviation Archive — Issue 33 The World’s Fastest Aircraft

(^6) UNITED STATES

I

t is something of a paradox that the

slowest aircraft of its time should also be

the fastest! But that was the situation on

17 December 1903 when the Wright brothers

inaugurated the aerial age with their  rst

successful powered  ights at Kitty Hawk,

North Carolina. Flying 120ft in 10 seconds,

the Wright Flyer achieved a speed of just

6.82mph, thus becoming the world’s fastest

powered aircraft!

Wright Flyer

The Wright Flyer, sometimes referred to

as the Kitty Hawk Flyer, was the product of a

sophisticated four-year programme of research

and development conducted by Wilbur and

Orville Wright beginning in 1899. During the

Wrights’ design and construction of their

experimental aircraft they also pioneered many

of the basic tenets and techniques of modern

aeronautical engineering, such as the use of a

wind tunnel and  ight testing as design tools.

Having gained much experience successfully

 ying gliders, during the spring and summer

of 1903 the Wright brothers built their  rst

powered aircraft. Essentially a larger and

sturdier version of their 1902 glider, the only

fundamentally new component of the 1903

aircraft was the propulsion system. With the

assistance of their bicycle shop mechanic,

Charles Taylor, the Wrights built a small 12hp

gasoline engine. While the engine was a

signi cant enough achievement, the genuinely

innovative feature of the propulsion system

was the propellers. The brothers conceived

Below: The Wright Flyer takes to the air. the propellers as rotary wings, producing