Wright Brothers 1900 Glider

In 1900, at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers begin testing their glider (no engine), flying their first 1900 design as both a kite and as a man-carrying glider. About a dozen flights were made although total air time was only two minutes.

1900 Technical Advancements

The Wright Brothers 1900 glider was the first plane flown by the brothers. It demonstrated that roll control could be provided through wing warping. On this aircraft, pitch control was provided by an elevator, called a canard, which was placed at the front of the aircraft. The location was probably chosen for safety reasons; to provide some structure between the pilot and the ground in a crash. There was also a small aerodynamic lift advantage in placing the elevator at the front unlike modern airplanes where the elevator is placed at the rear. Even with the increased the lift, the aircraft did not perform as well as the brothers predicted using available data.