Featuring aircraft and ground vehicles from 1914-1918.

A trio of World War I aircraft.

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.

According to Wikipedia:

The 1902 Wright Glider was the third free-flight glider built by the brothers. This was their first glider to incorporate yaw control by use of a rear rudder, and its design led directly to the powered 1903 Wright Flyer.

The brothers designed the 1902 glider during the winter of 1901/02. The wing design was based on data from extensive tests of miniature airfoils in their homemade wind tunnel. They built the components of the glider in Dayton and completed assembly at their Kill Devil Hills camp in September 1902. Flights took place between 19 September and 24 October. In order to cope with 1901 glider discovered adverse yaw, the Wrights tested a double fixed rear rudder, hoping improve turning control, but several times the pilot was unable to stop turning and collided with the ground. “The addition of a fixed vertical vane in the rear increased the trouble, and made the machine absolutely dangerous”. The brothers decided to remove one rudder, without success, then make the remaining rudder steerable to solve the problem. With this modification, they achieved a better control and made between 700 and 800 glides (as estimated by the brothers, who did not keep detailed records). The longest glide was measured and timed at 622.5 ft (189.7 m) in 26 seconds.

In September 1903 they brought the 1902 glider out of storage and made over 200 glides to hone their piloting skills while preparing the powered Flyer. One of their photographs shows they installed a second vertical fin as part of the steerable rear rudder, matching the original design and also that of the powered Flyer’s twin rear rudder. The glider was last flown in November 1903. After their successful powered flights, they put the glider back in storage at camp before returning home for Christmas. When they next visited Kitty Hawk in 1908 to test their improved Flyer III, Outer Banks weather had taken its toll: the storage shed and glider inside were wrecked.

Today a salvaged piece of wingtip from the 1902 Glider is preserved at the National Air and Space Museum a few feet from the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.

Featuring aircraft and ground vehicles from 1900-1913.

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.

According to Revolvy:

The American Eagle A-129 was a 1920s biplane built in the U.S.A.

Design and development
The preceding American Eagle A-101 of 1926 had achieved some success, but its fierce spin characteristics had resulted in several crashes during training flights. Giuseppe Bellanca redesigned the biplane with a longer fuselage and narrower cowling to accommodate the five-cylinder Kinner K-5 100 h.p. radial engine, which had its cylinder heads exposed. To mark the year of its first appearance, the designation A-129 was applied.

Operational history
Initially designed to replace the Porterfield Flying Schools A-101s, the new biplane proved to have good flying characteristics and more than 400 were built. The aircraft were also flown by “barnstormers” and sportsmen pilots.

Several A-129s remain airworthy and examples are preserved at the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum at Old Rhinebeck in New York state and in the Kansas Aviation Museum Wichita, Kansas.

Variants
A range of engines was fitted to the A-129 without changing the type designation. They included the 90 h.p. Curtiss OX-5 and others up to the 200 h.p. Wright J-4.

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.

According to Wikipedia:

The Blériot XI is a French aircraft of the pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. This is one of the most famous accomplishments of the pioneer era of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in history but also assured the future of his aircraft manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance of aviation; the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight with the headline “Britain is no longer an Island”.

It was produced in both single- and two-seat versions, powered by several different engines, and was widely used for competition and training purposes. Military versions were bought by many countries, continuing in service until after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Two restored examples — one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States — of original Blériot XI aircraft are thought to be the two oldest flyable aircraft in the world.

Wikipedia goes on to say: “Bleriot XI airworthy at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Red Hook, New York. It is powered by a 120°-angle regular “radial” Anzani three-cylinder engine and bears U.S. civil registration N60094. The front and back thirds of the fuselage are original.”

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.