1903 Wright Flyer — Handmade Model Airplane, 8ft Wingspan

Eight feet of wingspan. The first aircraft to carry a person in powered, controlled flight, at a scale that fills a ceiling.

Handcrafted with the Flyer's defining features: twin pusher propellers, the forward elevator canard, wing-warping cables and the skid undercarriage — no wheels, because it launched from a rail.

Details

• 8 ft wingspan — a ceiling-hung or large-wall piece
• Handcrafted construction with applied detail
• Twin pusher propellers and chain drive detail
• Forward canard elevator and rear rudder
• Skid undercarriage and wing bracing
• Ready to display or suspend

Before you order

At eight feet this needs real space and, if hung, a proper fixing. Measure the room and the ceiling height first.

The aircraft

On 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, the Flyer covered 120 feet in 12 seconds. The fourth flight of the day managed 852 feet in 59 seconds.

The Wrights' actual breakthrough was not the engine — it was control. Others had built things that left the ground. The brothers worked out three-axis control by warping the wingtips and coordinating rudder with roll, which is the reason a modern aircraft still has ailerons and a rudder doing exactly that job.