A Starting Device

A Starting Device (HM1A1W)

Location: Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433 Greene County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 48.25', W 84° 3.65'

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Inscription

Huffman Prairie Flying Field

— Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park —

To take off by engine power alone in Dayton's light winds, the Wright brothers had to lay out as much as 240 feet of wooden rails. If the breeze shifted, the track had to be moved and pegged down again to face the new wind direction.

But after they built a catapult in September 1904, the Wrights could launch their flyer with only 60 feet of rail.

It is evident that we will have to build a starting device that will render us independent of wind and are now designing one...
Wilbur Wright, August 8, 1904

Catapult-assisted Takeoffs
A team of horses pulled a 1600-pound counterweight to the top of the wooden derrick. When the weight fell sixteen feet, it added enough speed to get a flying machine airborne—regardless of wind direction and strength.

The catapult in front of you is a replica.
Details
HM NumberHM1A1W
Tags
Placed ByNational Park Service
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 at 2:40pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 751621 N 4410155
Decimal Degrees39.80416667, -84.06083333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 48.25', W 84° 3.65'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 48' 15.00" N, 84° 3' 39.00" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)937
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2-24 Pylon Rd, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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