Preparing for a Demonstration Flight of the Wright Flyer, France, 1908-1909
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Artifact Overview
Because the Wright brothers' early airplanes had no wheels in their landing gear, the planes required smooth, flat surfaces for takeoffs. The brothers created a wooden monorail track over which their airplanes could ride during launch. This photo shows sections of the track being moved during Wilbur Wright's successful demonstration flights in France in 1908-1909.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Negative (Photograph)
Subject Date
1909-1909
Creators
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
2000.53.110
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Glass (Material)
Technique
Gelatin dry plate process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 5.000 in
Width: 7.000 in
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Related Content
SetThe Wrights: Wowing the World
- 20 Artifacts
Wilbur Wright's many demonstration flights in France in 1908 and 1909 were spectacular events. Some in Europe had begun to doubt the Wrights' achievement at Kill Devil Hills. When Wilbur took to the skies over Le Mans, demonstrating more control and achieving more distance than his rivals, crowds flocked to watch his apparent mastery of the airplane. The skeptics were silenced.