[KenWittlief]

I give the reproduction team that built the flyer for this years anniversary a lot of credit- but they had a very difficult time flying it. I saw a program documenting what they did on a cable channel. They few it a few weeks before the big day, and only went about 90 feet, shorter that Orvilles' first flight.

they tried to fly it again and it stalled on takeoff, nosed into the ground causing a significant amount of damage - I dont know if they have yet successfully flow the replica plane as far as Orville did on his longest flight.

There were many aspects of the original plane that were not recorded - we dont know how tightly it was strung (the guy wires), how ridgid or flexible the plane was - its the small details that make a machine like that work or fail

the Wright brothers worked it all out with a very hands-on approach - something you cant get from a computer simulation

Orville flew by the seat of his pants - those pants should be in the Smithsonian next to the plane :c)