Barnstorm,ing and cowriter and director of the law faith as to jail. He is the author of to swing through the sky, and musical theater piece commissioned and produced by George Mason University about the history of jazz empowered flight. He was a longtime member of the right experience team an executive director of the discovery flight foundation. Paul is a graduate of Washington University in st. Louis with a degree in visual arts. In addition to aviation history and documentary filmmaking. His career covers classical drawing, stem in steam education. Exhibit design and photography. With that i would like to turn the stage over to paul, thank you all again so much for coming tonight. Hello. Thank you so much for having me. Can everyone see me okay . Hear me okay . Great. Im going to make sure i turn this thing on correctly. Okay, thank you kathy, and to everyone at smithsonian for having me back. I am very happy to be here. Again i am sharing the story with you. I think its really a fun story. In a local kind of way. Its a story of life and death, a story of invention, tragedy, redemption, all those sorts of things. And it happened here, across the river and for my ear. This tremendous milestone in the history of flight happened right here. It was all caught on film. So it we are going to be doing tonight, as i will take you through the back story. How we got to the moment of the sale of the first airplane to the military. And why this was a moment to come back from what ive been a terrible event the year before. And then, we are going to take a bit of a sidestep in to the film that was shot in 1909 of the right brothers together when they came back to fort mayor. And how this film, i reconstructed this film into the sequence it was originally shot to see if there was a story there. And thats really what inspire this whole thing. Is that film. We will be looking at that, film i will narrate a. And then we will talk about what happened after the trials at former. And then after that will have some time for questions. Does that sound like a plan . All right. Sounds like a plan. Its the plan ive, got so we are doing it. Lets begin, right here. This is september 17th 1908. See that on the airplane. Looking down. All right, sitting next to him is thomas. About three to five years salvage was fatally wounded and or vail was very badly injured. This is the moment before they took off so we will come back to that moment it is very important to remember at this stage the right brothers were worldfamous. Only months before they had been obscure guys from day in ohio and at like shop they were known in aeronautical circles, but no one had actually seen them fly in public. A handful of witnesses who over the years had seen airplanes fly. No one really knew if what they had claimed was true. And one Wilbur Wright took off, and Orville Wright took off the world changed they became world famous overnight so that is one thing to know in the story. There are dramatic transformation and especially for two very quiet, introspective, shy, men. They were put on the world stage. By their own actions. And had to cope with quite a lot. I am going to take you very briefly through the process of how the airplane came to be. Because, it is important to realize that the Wright Brothers want these guys who woke up one day it invented the airplane. Or they did it in six months. It was a years long process that began with reading. It began with learning about everything that had come before them. It began with a single, a single problem, trying to solve a single, problem control. They read about a great german Fighter Pilot was killed in a crash. Why did he die . Why did he lose control . It was that problem that got them going on this process. You can see my point or, right here, they are very first glider that they thought was going to be very good to carry them with hours of practice. It was too small. They did not get hours and hours and hours of practice. Its 1900. 19 oh when they come back with a much bigger fire. They based on the data. They fly it like a clog, it doesnt know lift nearly as much. They do get it to fly but when they turn it right, it goes, left and vice versa. Control is backwards. That is no good. That is not what they wanted. Number two, they come back with a glider based on their own data that they drive from wind tunnel tests. And actually learning what the shape of a wing does. For really the first time. They come back, instead of getting the glider. Thats struggling to get in the air it should go right over their heads. They have a rider now, they incorporate the rudder. They have Access Control. They have been flying the control ever since 1902. It was only once that was solved but they moved to having building a powered airplane. So it is a very iterative process, very deliberate, very stepbystep. One of the things that is really important to realize is that they accepted risk. They knew they could get hurt at any time. There it is, this is the moment, i love showing this picture, you can download a 200 megabyte pick from the library of congress. It is so clear, it so in focus, you can see the nails on the souls of orvilles shoes. This picture im sorry. inaudible . I cant. A request for the lights to come down a little bit. So, where was i . This picture is so in focus. It was taken by a man who had never taken a picture before. Or will preaimed and pretty focus the picture. The minute it took off they got a shot. Orville the first flight that only flew a few times, this is the end of the last flight, 852 feet, nearly one, front came off, this was the second time they broke this airplane they broke the 19 o2 glider several times they broke every flying machine they had ever built again accepted risk. 1904. They built an airplane almost identical to 1903. But they keep it in ohio this time. This is the first airplane that gets them in a complete circle. So, stepbystep, Getting Better all the time, still a lot of stability to fly like this, in fact this is, if you can see, there is the airplane, on its nose you can get very paralyzed and a crash like that there is Nothing Holding you in on the airplane it stops you keep going it is extremely dangerous but this is a risk they accepted they can fly high they were simply going as well as they could teaching them how to fly but in 1905 they had solved it, they put together three Access Control they have improved the propeller they improve the stability of the airplane that would stay in the air as long as they had gas and the tank, it stays in the air for 23 miles extraordinary achievement and actually two days ago i was preparing my film at the air force museum over the weekend. How many of you have ever been there . Oh quite a few. The National Park service maintains that it is unchanged from how it was when the right brothers where there. I was there with the retired general from the air force. And he said, you just feel it. You just feel. It and you know, its really quite extraordinary. So, whats interesting about what happens here in 1905. After those plays. And i asked this question whenever i give a presentation at an elementary school, i asked the kids, you have invented the airplane, youve invented this great plane, what do you do next . What do you do next . You sell it. That is right. And that is what their Wright Brothers did. They inventive face and in 1905. They carry on with research and development but the primary purpose is no longer inventing but business. Its a very clear decision that they made. So, the airplane goes away. And they dont do anything with the airplane were showing it or anything for three years. What they want to do is get the business set up and they go after two things, customers, and pat. The patent was incredibly important. This is actually the jon page from their famous pad. Im turning it so you can see it a little better. What it is based on is not the airplane. Its based on their control system. And the principles of their control system, because what they realized is that they had cracked the problem of Access Control. Does everybody know that isnt an airplane . A bicycle is to Access Control. The bicycle leans and you turn it with the handlebars. Airplane has one more access hitch, so you are diving, turning, and rolling. And you need all three in order to fly in control. To balance the airplane in the air. That is what they patented. Was the principal the mechanical solution they came up with. When i was back in a day in, a retired superintendent of parks said this back patton was bulletproof. There were a lot of lawsuits against the right brothers, a lot of people tried to get around the patent. It went on for years, that is a whole other lecture. Suffice to say, they never lost a case. And, what they created, has been, the underpinning of how airplanes are controlled. It is based on their 1902 plan. This is how they learned how to master a machine in the air. Over 1200 glides in this position. But, by 1908, they are not alone. Getting into the air. Some of what they have done has leaked out. They tried to keep a tight lid on it, but word has gotten out they have also been to europe, trying to sell the airplane, they wrote donations all over the world, all over europe, japan, russia, because in their own country, the United States kept turning them down. Saying they would write to the army, and the army would say you are not turning money loose for flying machines. I am not spending money on aerial experimentation. They kept fighting back saying, we are done with that, we have it. Here is what it does and they went back and forth and they kind of gave up, and like i said people started getting to the, air this is january 1908 in france. Thats henry winning the cup if im running right. First kilometer in a circle. Wright brothers had flown many many times that already. But none public. Glenn curtis, one kilometer in a Straight Line. With the Scientific American cup. Wright brothers much further along than that. But nobody had seen what they have done. The New York Times even published a piece called are they flyers are liars. Thanks to impart, a young Army Lieutenant had a lot of foresight he met wilbur and france when will what it was trying to sell the airport there and they leave the right brothers he was one of the ones who helped advocate with the military back here in washington, they put up this famous notification. Number four 86. An rfp. It was for the specifications of a flying machine to buy one if it meets these requirements, one guy was actually in prison and a only accepted three proposals. One guy never showed up, the other guy had worked with the smithsonian others. He showed up with parts in a suitcase. And not really what they are looking for. And of course the right brothers had but they had, it was based in large part on what they had done. But it was again a different thing than what the right brothers had ever down. The army wanted to people sitting upright, they had never done that before. Just one person sitting lying down. They wanted to be able defy 40 miles an, hour stay in the air for an hour, they it was more than they had actually done. So they got up the 1905 machine. They had not flown it in three years. They take it back to north carolina, they put seats on, it it has a bigger engine, it has better propellers, and they go to practice. They do practice, they take up one of their mechanics, at surfers passenger. It happens on a north carolina. There are very few pictures of the airplane. This is the best one. And they start practicing with this new control system, before they had a hip, cradle you move your hips towards the wings, they completely changed that because now they are setting. Up they have to move these lovers. And or valdez im the control system, wilbur got confused well flying. The airplane one in. And he crunched, it he was fine, the airplane was total. So practice, done. Now more practice, and they didnt have that much practice, so wilbur goes off to france with an airplane he built in 1907 orville comes to former with an airplane almost identical to him. They go to or unveil the airplane. This is a picture of wilbur and france. They were kind of amazed by him, because he did not want to stay in fancy hotels or anything like. That he actually slept in the hanger what the airplane. He got himself a bike. He was very modest, self effacing. It is kind of hard to overstate the impact that will reverse flights had in 1908. Because no one had seen what they could do. People were getting in the air and flying in a circle. But one wilbur took off and swept into these terms. And just flew for a couple of minutes and came down, they just could not believe the control that he had. And the man we will see this. They must have had nerves of steel. Because they had not flown these actual airplanes ever. And they are doing a full test in front of everybody who is saying, i dont believe you for a second. And then they do it. And we are fortunate to have some footage so you can see what that looks like. That is wilbur, getting into his airplane. And the thing is, when he got to france, he change the controls. Because orville how do you moving the lever left, forward to the, left and backwards to the, right and then down was forward, and oppose backwards. So you need to remember. Well there didnt like that he changed its a left was left and right was right. So the irony was orville comply wilburs plane and wilbur couldnt fly orville a plane. He puts the nose down its philip, this is very typical of what you would have seen wilbur doing that summer. Flying graceful circles, low to the ground, but he is demonstrating over and over again is. Complete control. Thats not what he was as a person, or a, pilot it certainly was and who he was as a businessman. That is why they did. It was not because they want to just off the airplane and make big names for themselves. They want to go into the business, they patented the control system, anybody whats going to build an airplane was going to pay them a royalty, they wanted to make money, that is why they did, a perfectly fine. Its okay. I dare say i would do that if i invented the airplane. This is great because you actually see the airplane land. You dont often get to see. Quite amazing. So, wilbur blows everybodys mind orville comes to fort meyer and late august. They are already world famous before he has done anything, his brother had set a very high bar. His expectations were zero now theyre really high. One of the requirements was that the airplane had to be transported all. So this is where they are bringing it. And this is right where britain gate is. How many of you are familiar with mayor henderson . Or bill did not have the advantage that wilbur had. Of solitude and peace and quiet while he got ready. He was world famous. A lot of people came to see him. He was not with his brother. Hes perfectly capable of doing this by himself. But he was in a very different circumstance than wilbur was. So this is the airplane, thats orville, standing there. And thats the airplane while its being assembled. And what is called the balloon shed. I will get to that in a minute. There was a photographer who is there, by the name of see it claudio. Its as if we had hired a photographer after the time to go back and take beautifully Crystal Clear close up shots of this airplane, to see exactly how it went together. This is one of my favorite pictures that he shot. I love the airplane in the foreground and the soldier on horseback. There was a transition from one century to the other. This is also a picture of orville control system. At this time anyone who was building an airplane came up with their own control system. So when you learned to fly epithet that kind of airplane, that is that, you didnt fly any other kind of airplane, you just did not know how to make the levers work. What you see here are actually three leathers. These two or vote would hold in one hand. That holds both of them, it is wing warping and rather, but the split string a split so you get your middle little bit. If you can imagine how you would with one hand split two sticks apart four and a half. Kind of crazy. And then thats the elevator control. You can tell why wilbur wanted to redesign. It so or hill had to do to trials for the army. One was an endurance test. Five with a passenger for an hour. Another was a distance and speed test, crosscountry, you had to fly at least 40 miles per hour. Or vote was nowhere near ready to do this when they put the airplane together. They did a lot of practice flights, a lot of training flights, they didnt have quite the effect that wilbur dead, but it proved that what they had done was real, i want to look at the difference, it was a big deal, look at the crowd this is just to see him practice look at the difference look where he is, lying down, on a deserted strip of sand, his brother and six other people, they probably didnt get more than ten feet off the ground, look worry is five years later, what i difference, and all for a part of a very different process that they put together and they stop to it this is a headline from the washington post, it was hugely covered in the press and their fame only grew so as or evil got more and more familiar with the airplane he took it for longer flights, took up more passengers. It was during this time that he prepared to get these trial flights finished and complete my first memory of aviation im just going to back this up. We are going to see a little video clip here of somebody who is just a kid at four admire. A young man who wanted to design and be unable architect instead he saw Orville Wright fly and it changed his life. My first memory of things and aviation was seeing the first airplane demonstrated in 19 oh waited for to meyer. This batting around. Off she went. That is donald douglas. Yes. Honey. So it blew his mind. There is a little boy who saw or will fly. Paul barber start of the national era. Museum i remember when i was a little boy i was at the right Brothers National memorial. I was seven, listening to this short round man talk and talk and talk i thought it was cool that his name was paul as well, but what caught my attention was when he said, and i saw him. I was fascinated by that you saw oval and i saw you for me this moment where history came alive for me and it never let go. At the same time just before orville flew his flight. There were others going on in fort meyer. Captain tom had committed candidates army to do