AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2024 - 58

SPEC SHEET
Production
Wright B
Powerplant /
Seats /
Empty weight /
Max gross weight /
Cruise speed /
Range /
Wright Vertical 4,
28 to 42 hp at 1,425
to 1,500 rpm
2
800 lb
1,250 lb
38 knots
110 mi
White Bird
Lycoming YIO-390,
210 hp at 2,700 rpm
2
2,240 lb
2,900 lb
55 knots
100 mi w/30-mi
reserve
Flight and engine data and readings from sensors
on the airplane help the team identify
anomalies such as vibration or a cylinder that's
running a little hot.
It may be a design issue or just require an
Engineering history
The Wright Company produced the first Model
B in 1910 and made its first deliveries to the
U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1911. Production
continued in Dayton through 1914, with many
more produced around the world under license.
" It has a lot of firsts associated with it, "
The Wright " B " Flyer Hangar/
Museum is open to visitors
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Admission is free.
wright-b-flyer.org
Stepler says. The first production airplane. The
first cargo flight. The first commercial aircraft.
The first military aircraft. The first radio
transmission from an airplane. The first gunfire
from an airplane. To Stepler, it's the pinnacle of
Wilbur and Orville Wright's collective genius.
With their attentions turned to business, the
brothers never again worked together in the
same way to advance the technology of aviation.
By the end of the Wright B's production run,
nimble warplanes were preparing for global
conflict. The B was obsolete.
Globally, aeronautical development raced
forward to the golden age of aviation, the jet age,
and beyond. But it all began in Dayton.
" The mission is to maintain the Wright
View the video
aopa.org/pilot/
september24
brothers' history here, and what they accomplished, "
says Adams. " By building the flying
machine that they did, they virtually changed
the world. "
Spirit of innovation
The engine's still warm and volunteers are flipping
through a readout of data from the Dynon.
58
AOPA PILOT / September 2024
operational change, but the team sits down at
the table every Saturday morning to discuss
how the airplane is flying. Uneven cooling is the
challenge of the day.
Despite the modern technology available
to the team, there are still surprises. Jim
Papa, who retired as director of engineering
and technical management at the Air Force
Materiel Command, says they expected a
cruise angle of attack of 7 or 8 degrees, but
flight testing revealed it's more like 10 to 12.
Interference drag from the struts has a greater
impact on lift than anticipated. And Stands,
one of four pilots qualified to fly the White
Bird, notes that single pilot flight testing with
weights accounted for the mass of a second
occupant but not the drag.
But, like the bicycle sellers of Dayton more
than a century ago, they record and regroup. The
design is always evolving.
It takes volunteers of all backgrounds to
keep the museum open and the White Bird flying.
Most are retired and now dedicate their
skills to designing, maintaining, and operating
the White Bird and supporting the museum.
" We've got pilots, we've got crew chiefs,
we've got people that were in the military, "
says Adams. " But we have all kinds of other
volunteers, too. We have people who were
firefighters, police officers. I was a salesman.
And we just have a passion for maintaining this
history here that we have. And it's a labor of
love to do this. "
As the pilots sit debriefing after a busy
morning of flights, a volunteer stops by on his
way out the door.
" It's fun, " he says. " Especially when you guys
are flying. I feel like a crew chief again. "
" This place makes us feel young, " Stands says.
" That's what I tell prospective volunteers
all the time, " says Papa. " People come in and
what I tell them is, you come here to, kind of
a hobby, volunteer. But you can do things that
you used to do when you were a young engineer
or young crew chief where you were
actually out there kicking the tires and lighting
the fires. "
sarah.deener@aopa.org
http://www.wright-b-flyer.org http://www.aopa.org/pilot/september24
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2024

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