Wright Brothers' 1901 Glider

In 1901, the Wright Brothers return to Kitty Hawk and begin experimenting with a larger glider. They conduct about one hundred flights during the monthes of July and August, ranging in distance from twenty to almost four hundred feet.

1901 Technical Advancements

The Wright Brothers 1901 glider had the same basic design as the 1900 glider, but was larger to provide more lift to carry a pilot in lighter winds. But the aircraft did not perform as well as the brothers had originally expected. The aircraft only developed 1/3 of the lift they estimated they would get. The brothers modified the curvature of the wing but this only slightly improved the flying characteristics. During their test flights the brothers first encountered wing stalls in which the lift would suddenly decrease and the aircraft would settle back to earth. They also encountered an effect known as adverse yaw. On some flights, when the wings were warped to produce a roll which should result in a curving flight path in the direction of the lower wing, the drag increased on the upper wing and the aircraft would twist in the opposite direction. The air speed decreased and the plane settled back to the ground. At the end of 1901, the brothers were frustrated and Wilbur remarked that humans would never learn to fly in his lifetime.