Wright Model EX
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The Wright Model EX is an early biplane built by the
Wright Brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
. It is a scaled-down, single-seat derivative of the Wright Model B designed specifically for exhibition flying (hence the "EX" designation). Two examples were built. One of them—the ''Vin Fiz Flyer''—in 1911 became the first aircraft to fly coast-to-coast across the U.S., a journey that took almost three months.


Design

The Model EX was a three-bay, unstaggered biplane with equal-span wings. A tail with twin rudders was carried on an open truss. The pilot sat next to the engine on the leading edge of the lower wing, and power was supplied to two two-bladed pusher propellers via chain drives. The undercarriage consisted of long skids that extended far to the front of the aircraft, and which were each fitted with dual mainwheels. A tailskid protuded to the rear of the aircraft. The Model EX would be the first Wright design manufactured completely at their new factory.


History

The publisher
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
had offered a US$50,000 prize to the first aviator to fly coast to coast, in either direction, in less than 30 days from start to finish.
Calbraith Perry Rodgers Calbraith Perry Rodgers Jr. (January 12, 1879 – April 3, 1912) was an American aviation pioneer. He made the first transcontinental airplane flight across the U.S. from September 17, 1911, to November 5, 1911, with dozens of stops, both inte ...
, grandnephew of naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and an avid yachtsman and motorcycle racer, had taken about 90 minutes of instruction from
Orville Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first succes ...
in June 1911 before soloing, and had won an $11,000 air endurance prize in a contest in August. Rodgers became the first private citizen to buy a Wright airplane, a Wright Model B modified and called the ''Model EX''. The plane's 35 horsepower (26 kilowatt) engine allowed a speed of at .
First flight across nation little noted. 84-day trip ended 60 years ago after 16 wrecks along the way. Toledo Blade, Section A, page 43, Associated Press story, December 12, 1971. Retrieved January 7, 2011
Since the airplane would need a considerable support crew, Rodgers persuaded J. Ogden Armour, of meatpacking fame, to sponsor the attempt, and in return named the plane after Armour's new grape
soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...
Vin Fiz. The support team rode on a three-car
train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
called the ''Vin Fiz Special'', and included Charlie Taylor, the Wright brothers' bicycle shop and aircraft mechanic, who built their first and later engines and knew every detail of Wright airplane construction; Rodgers' wife Mabel; his mother; reporters; and employees of Armour and Vin Fiz. The flight began at 4:30 pm, September 17, 1911, when Rodgers took off from the Sheepshead Bay Race Track in
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. Although the plan called for a large number of stops along the way, in the end there were 75, including 16 crashes, and Rodgers was injured several times. Taylor and the team of mechanics rebuilt the ''Vin Fiz Flyer'' when necessary, and only a few pieces of the original plane actually made the entire trip. On November 5, having missed the prize deadline by 19 days, Rodgers landed in
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, in front of a crowd of 20,000. On the 12th he took off for
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, but crashed at Compton, with a brain concussion and a spinal twist. He was hospitalized for three weeks. Finally, on December 10 he landed on the beach, and taxied the ''Flyer'' into the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, completing the unprecedented journey of over 4,000 statute miles (6,400 km). Actual flying time totalled under 84 hours. Rodgers was killed in an air crash on the Pacific shore of the US shortly after the flight across the US. The aircraft was acquired by the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
in 1934, and eventually joined the collection of the
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
, after being fully restored for display by the Smithsonian in 1960. As of August 2009, the plane was still on display at the NASM but was undergoing further conservation. In 1961, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first trans-continental flight, aviation historian and
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aeronautical engineer Peter M. Bowers built a reproduction of the Vin Fiz. Built to airworthy standards, the plane was flown as a towed glider, and subsequently became a display in the San Diego Air and Space Museum, where it remains (as of 2022)."Vin Fiz Flies in the Museum’s Rotunda,"
San Diego Air & Space Museum The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. It is located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building (San Diego), Ford Building, which is li ...
, retrieved July 10, 2022
In 1986 the ''Vin Fiz Flyer'' flight was re-enacted in a replica to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the original journey. The pilot was materials scientist Jim Lloyd.


Mail

In addition to the Vin Fiz endorsement, Mabel Rodgers used the flight to promote an
airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...
service, and sold special 25-cent
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
s for items to be carried on the airplane. They were semi-official - the Post Office tolerated them, but insisted that mail carry regular stamps as well. The stamps were large, inscribed "RODGERS AERIAL POST" and "VIN FIZ FLYER", with a picture of the airplane in the center. It is believed that they were ordered by Cal's brother, Robert S. Rodgers, from a printer in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, and they were probably first available around October 14. Twelve ''Vin Fiz Flyer'' stamps are known to exist today - seven on
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...
s, one on a cover, and four individuals. One of the cards sold in 1999 for $88,000. Another one of the cards was only recently discovered; it was bought at an Internet auction for several hundred dollars, then auctioned by Siegel in December 2001 for $44,000. Shreves Philatelic Galleries, Inc.Shreves Philatelic Galleries
/ref> held a specialized auction "The Pioneers Of Flight Collection" on Nov. 29, 2006 selling four stamps: the only one on cover for $70,000 and three on postcards (for $60,000, $60,000 and $47,500).


Specifications (''Vin Fiz Flyer'')


Notes


References

* Eileen F. Lebow, ''Cal Rodgers and the Vin Fiz: the First Transcontinental Flight''. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989) * E.P. Stein, ''Flight of the Vin Fiz'' (New York: Arbor House, 1985) * Richard L Taylor, ''The First Flight Across the United States: the Story of Calbraith Perry Rodgers and His Airplane, the Vin Fiz'' (New York: F. Watts, 1993) * "New 'Vin Fiz Flyer' card found and auctioned", '' Linn's Stamp News'' January 14, 2002, p. 14


External links


Centennial Of Flight accountThe National Air & Space Museum's page on the ''Vin Fiz''Archived Page On Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's Static ''Vin Fiz Flyer'' ReproductionAdobe PDF File "Transcontinental With The Vin Fiz" By Robert WaldvogelLinn's Stamp News
August 19, 2019
Cynthia P. Bayne Calbraith Perry Rodgers Vin Fiz Collection
at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections {{Wright aircraft Single-engined twin-prop pusher aircraft Individual aircraft in the Smithsonian Institution Aircraft first flown in 1911