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Restoring History...
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 32K, 384K |
 33K, 386K |
 27K, 383K |
Over the course of the afternoon, the restoration team vacuumed sections of the rear of the plane. They went about cleaning the wings, struts, and wires, and loosening bolts. They also demonstrated how the controls move the wings, tail, and rudder, which were all in working condition.
2:45PM: The team began tagging parts of the plane for
catalogue purposes. Everything—every piece—will
eventually go back in the exact same place on the plane, so
tagging the parts correctly was very important. The workers
knew exactly which tags went where, evidence that the team
had done a lot of preparation and possessed great knowledge
of the Model B.
(For examples, labels read: "S1"= Strut 1; "LW"= Left Wing)
The tail (back) of the plane was removed first. Workers loosened the cables and wires that connected the controls at the front to the rear of the plane (those that work the rudder, etc). Then the entire back section was detached, including the wires and cables.
 29K, 223K |
 35K, 280K |
For a clearer perspective on the description of the plane that follows, imagine that you are the pilot, viewing the flying machine from your position in one of its corduroy seats...
3:30PM: The front right center strut was hammered out from underneath.
Workers cut the center wires (above the seats) that attach all the way to the tip of both wings. These many "landing and flying wires" are attached by eyelets.
Right Wing: Workers took the back center strut off first, then removed the front center one. The right bottom wing was removed first, then the top wing.
The restoration team demonstrated that the control assembly of the plane is on hinges—the Wright Brothers probably swung it up toward the seats for transportation/shipping purposes.
 33K, 389K |
 29K, 237K |
 28K, 289K |
The Left Wing: The back center strut was removed first, then the front center strut. The left bottom wing was removed, then the top wing. (This was done in the same manner as the right wing.)
The wings of the plane were extremely light, especially if compared to airplane wings of today! Two people were able to carry each wing. One worker estimated them to be about 20 pounds each.
4:10PM: Only the middle structure of the plane existed at this point. The workers began loosening the end struts.
The left and right blinders were removed. (Square panels of material attached to struts near the top of the plane.)
 31K, 382K |
 33K, 386K |
 26K, 217K |
Two of the team members began building shelves in the truck that would carry the pieces of the Model B to Ohio. All parts of the disassembled plane were eventually strapped down for safe transport.
Workers removed the control assembly from the plane.
Until about 7:30PM in the evening, the restoration team removed the propellers and took the control assembly apart.
9:45AM: The engine was securely fastened and then raised up and out of the plane with a small crane. Workers placed it on wooden planks for later transporting.
10AM: Restoration team removed the top center wing, then removed the remaining eight struts.
11AM: The team tipped the remaining piece (bottom center wing) on its front edge to remove the wheel/skid assembly.
11:30AM: Left skid was detached, then the right skid.
By 11:45AM, there was no "airplane" left to be seen, but all the pieces of one were still in the exhibit hall.
By about 1PM, the restoration team finished building most of the shelves in the truck, and prepared to load the plane's parts in.
2:30PM: Parts of the Wright flyer were carefully loaded into the truck and secured. The wings were loaded onto the shelves that had been built, and then were tied down. The struts were wrapped and tied together in bundles.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, March 29, 2001, the restoration team pulled out of the museum's loading dock, headed for Ohio with a huge part of Franklin Institute history in pieces in the back of the truck. Now, take a look at some documentation of the plane's actual restoration...
