PRESS RELEASE – DAYTON, OhioโMore than a century after it opened, Americaโs first airplane factory will become active again with a project to build a modern Wright flyer.Wright โBโ Flyer Inc. will build the airplane at the Wright Company factory site in Dayton, Ohio with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) providing valuable support. Final assembly will take place inside the original Wright factory buildings.โWilbur and Orville Wright were Americaโs first airplane homebuilders. I canโt think of a better way to honor their legacy than to build a modern version of their first production airplane in their own factory with the help of EAA homebuilders around the world,โ Wright โBโ Flyer President William J. โJayโ Jabour said Monday, Dec. 15, at the Wright Company factory site.
Jabour announced the news to EAA members on Friday, Dec. 12 at EAAโs annual Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet in Oshkosh, Wis. The airplane project meshes with the missions of both organizations.The new airplane will replace its current lookalike, the so-called โBrown Bird,โ which has been flying since 1982. Like the Brown Bird, the new plane will resemble an original Wright Model B while meeting modern airworthiness standards.
To help promote the project, Wright โBโ Flyerโs current airplaneโknown as the โBrown Birdโโwill be displayed and flown at the annual EAA AirVenture fly-in convention in Oshkosh in July 2015.โThe opportunity to support this Wright โBโ Flyer project in a way that involves EAA members was something that created instant enthusiasm,โ said Rick Larsen, EAAโs vice president of communities and member programs. โThe excitement of supporting this historic aircraft as it takes shape and flies is a highlight for all of us.โ
More details, including how EAAโs 185,000 members and 1,000 chapters can participate in the project, will be made public as they are finalized.Wright โBโ Flyer has been granted access to the site by its current property owner, Home Avenue Redevelopment LLC. The nonprofit National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) will support the project with infrastructure improvements and other assistance. Wright โBโ Flyer is a NAHA partner organization.โThereโs only one place in the world where you can build an airplane in Americaโs first airplane factory, and itโs here in Dayton, Ohio,โ said Frank Winslow, NAHA chair.Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the airplane in Dayton and formed the Wright Company in 1909. They built the factoryโs two buildings in 1910 and 1911. The factory produced approximately 120 airplanes, most of them Model Bs, by the time Orville sold the company in 1915. General Motors Corp. eventually converted the buildings to automotive parts production, and the buildings became a part of the Delphi Home Avenue plant, which shut down in 2008.
NAHA has worked with Home Avenue Redevelopment, the National Park Service, the state of Ohio and the city of Dayton to preserving the historic buildings while preparing the 54-acre site for redevelopment. NAHA envisions a range of complementary activities on the site, including education, research and aerospace manufacturing.
About Wright โBโ Flyer Inc.
Wright โBโ Flyer Inc. is an all-volunteer, 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit corporation that promotes Daytonโs aviation heritage by flying and displaying lookalikes of Wright Model B airplanes. It is based on Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport in Ohio, where its hangar-museum is open to the public at no charge from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Visit www.wright-b-flyer.org for more information.
Related Articles
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
