• A biplane sits on a long wooden rail on the ground. A group of people stand behind it.
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    Because of its size and weight, the Flyer could not be hand launched like the Wright gliders. The brothers built a 60-foot launching rail from four 15-foot two-by-fours laid end to end. To take off, the airplane rode down this track on a small, wheeled dolly or “truck,” as the Wrights called it. The brothers referred to their launching track as the “Grand Junction Railroad.”

  • A biplane sits on a long wooden rail on the ground. A group of people stand behind it.

ID#:

NASM-2003-29081

Credit:

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM 2003-29081)

Source:

National Air and Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Owner:

Smithsonian Institution

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