Logan - At Nellis Air Force Base
Las Vegas, Nev.
May 20, 2003
The past and the present will sit side-by-side providing a rare glimpse of aviation history as the USU Wright Flyer will be flown and then parked next to the Air Force's newest fighter jet, the F/A-22, on May 28.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of powered flight, Utah State University students and faculty, working with the Space Dynamics Laboratory, designed and built the flyer using space-age materials, as if the Wright brothers were designing their plane today.
Kevlar and graphite replaced the muslin and spruce used in the original Flyer. These two composites are manufactured in Utah and used in space shuttles, next-generation rockets and military aircraft. A Harley Davidson twin-cam 88B engine functions as USU's modern-day version of the engine originally built by Charles Taylor for the Wright brothers.
After two years and over 10,000 hours of hard work from Utah State engineering and aviation technology students and faculty, the USU Wright Flyer has been tested and flown over 50 times. The futuristic flyer is more stable than the original, but still preserves the look of the Wright brothers' first plane.
The Flyer is scheduled to travel to the Inventing Flight Celebration in Dayton, Ohio in July of 2003. President George W. Bush will be in attendance as an honorary guest, and former Senator and Space Shuttle Astronaut Jake Garn will be at the controls for the celebratory flight.
The U.S. Centennial Flight Commission has designated the USU Wright Flyer project as an official centennial event. It has also gained the attention of national media with spotlights to be featured on the Learning Channel and the History Channel in 2003.
The celebration of powered flight will give the residents of Nevada an opportunity to reflect on the past and compare it to the future.
To find out more about the USU Wright Flyer see the
Web sites at http://www.usuwrightflyer.org
and http://utahstatetoday.usu.edu/archives/march2003/03-14-03/feature-03-14-03.cfm.
USU WRIGHT FLYER
TOUR SCHEDULE
| DATE |
AREA OF SCHOOLS |
SITES |
May 20
11a.m. - 6p.m. |
Nephi High School |
Juab High School
802 North 650 East
Nephi, Utah |
| May 21
11a.m. - 6pm
|
Richfield City Park |
300 North and Main Street
Richfield Utah |
May 22
11a.m. - 7p.m. |
Fillmore North Park |
500 North Main
Fillmore, Utah |
| *May 24 |
Mt. Pleasant Air Show - Fly-in
Mt. Pleasant Airport |
Air Show - Fly-in
115 West Main Street
Mt. Pleasant, Utah |
*May 28
10a.m. - 1p.m. |
Las Vegas Nellis Air Force Base |
4370 North Washington Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV |
May 29
12p.m. - 7pm
|
Cedar City Southern Utah University |
Gerald Sherratt Library North Side
Cedar City, Utah |
*May 30th
12p.m. - 7p.m. |
St. George St. George Airport |
620 South Airport Road
St. George, Utah |
*May 31st
10a.m. - 7p.m.
|
St. George St. George Airport |
620 South Airport Road
St. George, Utah |
*June 21
|
Ogden Ogden Hinckley Airport |
3909 Airport Road
Ogden, UT |
*July 3-19
|
Dayton, Ohio |
Huffman Prairie/Wright Patterson Air Force Base
(Jake Garn as Pilot) |
| *July 10-16 | Dayton Wright Memorial
|
|
| *July 17-20 |
Dayton, Ohio Dayton Airport |
|
| *July 28 - Aug. 4 |
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh Airshow (Tentative) |
|
| *The USU Wright Flyer will be flying
at these locations weather permitting. |
Contact:
Trina Paskett
Public Relations Specialist
Space Dynamics Laboratory
1695 North Research Park Way
North Logan, UT 84321
Phone: 435-797-4678
Fax: 435-797-0096
Cell: 435-881-2823
http://www.spacedynamics.org
Contact:
Mark Esada
(702) 652-2753
michael.estrada@nellis.af.mil
Trina Paskett
(435) 797-4678
(435) 881-2823
trina.paskett@sdl.usu.edu
|
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