Orville Wright Making Glider Tests at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, October 1911

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Artifact Overview

Orville Wright experimented with an automatic stability system to keep an airplane flying straight and level without any input from the pilot. Wright tested the apparatus in a glider at Kill Devil Hills in October 1911. On October 24, he set a record with a glide lasting 9 minutes, 45 seconds. Wright's stabilizer worked, but it was not a commercial success.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

October 1911

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

82.300.1623.14

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 6 in
Width: 8 in