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Discovering Orville and Wilbur
Ken Hyde of Warrenton finds success in central goals of the Wright Experience. Discovering Orville and Wilbur
Date published: 1/3/2004
ORE THAN three years ago, I wrote that a Warrenton man by the name of Ken Hyde was attempting to re-create Orville and Wilbur Wright. It was only a slight exaggeration. The centennial of the Wrights' achievement at Kitty Hawk, N.C.--the world's first controlled, powered flight--passed by on Dec. 17, and Hyde, 64, is still trying. He has now built and flown most of the Dayton brothers' pioneer machines, but getting to know the two inscrutable geniuses remains an elusive quest. Ten days ago, Hyde attempted to mark the centennial with a commemorative flight using an exact copy of the Wright Flyer, precisely 100 years afterward. Poor weather at that hour scrubbed the effort, disappointing millions of TV viewers in an event beamed around the world. Unlike Orville and Wilbur, who simply waited for favorable weather to fly, Hyde's pilot, Kevin Kochersberger, had little wind for his cantankerous machine when, in an effort to put on a show for the throng that showed up and the millions watching elsewhere, he made a second try. As much of the world now knows, the fragile craft simply sputtered off the end of its launching rail with an ignominious splash into a puddle of rainwater. "We gave it the all-American try but just did not have the winds," said Hyde. In addition, he said, one of the Wright engine's four cylinders conked out during the take-off run. What may have looked to the world like failure was anything but, for the attempts of Dec. 17 were actually part of an ongoing project led by the former airline pilot to discover the secrets that lay behind the Wrights' success and, in the process, to learn more about the men behind the machine. By Dec. 17, Hyde's team had already made two brief but successful flights in the Flyer, on Nov. 20 and Dec. 3, and a third unsuccessful attempt on Nov. 25.
Date published: 1/3/2004
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