Description:

The Wright Soaring Feat! Fantastic Original Photo of Orville Setting a Soaring Record! Incredibly Rare & Unique.

A fantastic original photograph of American aviator, Orville Wright on October 24, 1911, completing the "Wright Soaring Feat" in which he broke a world record that stood for close to eleven years. The photo is mounted to a backing, providing a fantastic display. Some dealers notes on verso, light wear, foxing, else fine. The photograph measures 6.5" x 4.625" and is mounted to an overall size of 9" x 6.25."

Orville found the right wind and took off in a 40 mph (64.3 kph) upslope wind gusting up the sides of Kill Devil Hills. He quickly rose to an altitude of 50 feet (15.2 meters) and remained there for 5-1/2 minutes. He then flew again, gliding for 7-1/4 minutes, and again, soaring for 9-3/4 minutes, seeming to hang motionless over the same patch of sand. These were the first recorded soaring flights, the last one setting a record that would stand for ten years. Following the record-setting feat, Orville sent a triumphant message to Wilbur saying, “All our theories are proved.” 

The 1911 attempts, depicted in this original photograph, were different from the more famous 1903 ones in that they were with a non-powered glider. Since the Wrights had already shown that powered flight was possible, the tests were more focused on safety and were designed to try out new equipment; the new equipment ultimately had to stay under wraps because newspaper reporters came out to watch the experiments every day they were conducted.

Between October 16 and 26, Wright made nearly 100 glides. Most of them were made into winds 35 miles per hour or faster. The record-breaking, nearly 10-minute glide was into 50-mile-per-hour winds and did not reach the 120-foot distance that the powered flight had made earlier. The record would stand internationally until 1921.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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December 14, 2022 11:00 AM EST
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University Archives

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