Continued, page three. The Wright Flyer:
They saved the propeller for last, thinking it'd be no problem since there had been propellers on ships for a long time, and other aeronautical experimenters (there were quite a few) had tried their hand. Once the Wrights got into the math, they discovered that no propeller ever built had been anywhere near peak efficiency. As they progressed, they determined that the propeller was not some kind of "paddle," it was an airfoil. Once they looked at the prop as a rotating wing, the problem was solved.
It was probably one of their greatest discoveries.
When Ken Hyde (see article in this website's "Index of Previous Features) was faced with duplicating the Wright's propellers for his full-scale replica of the Kitty Hawk Flyer, he called in a man who specializes in making stringed instruments to carve them.
 Here's a rare shot. The Wrights tried a flight on December 14th, three days ahead of the event we're celebrating now. On that occasion, Wilbur won the toss and was at the controls. They were unsuccessful in getting airborne, as you can see. Because of that attempt, Orville was aboard for the first successful flight on the 17th. Very democratic, those Wrights.
Finally, here it is, a picture we've seen a hundred thousand times and still pause to study.
Born in the nineteenth century, Orville and Wilbur Wright became icons of the twentieth. Because of them, we got our wings.
I've been all over the country this year, giving speeches about the Wrights. Now, I'm looking forward to seeing you at Kitty Hawk on the 17th of December.
Jim Slade
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