Exhibit No. 01 — The First Flight
The man who built the wing that carried history.
For four years, Matthew Black ran the drawing boards of the Wright workshop — a quiet engineer whose calculations made the December 1903 flights at Kitty Hawk possible. His field journal, preserved here, opens the diary of a machine being born.
The Ledger
Four years toward the sky
1899 — 1903
1899
The glider
Black joins the workshop in Dayton, sketching airfoil curves with Orville. The first glider is designed on a shared set of boards.
1901
The failed glider
Tests at the sand dunes disappoint. Black's notes record a stalling pitch that no one can yet explain. The brothers nearly abandon the work; Black talks them back to the tables.
1902
The wind tunnel
A small wind tunnel is built from a starch box and a fan wheel. Black measures lift across eighty wing sections, correcting the brothers' data and the published tables alike.
1903
The engine
No manufacturer will build a motor light enough. Black machines the crankcase from a single block of aluminum in six weeks. Finished weight: 183 pounds.
From the Field Journal
Days leading to the flight
15 December 1903
A sleepless night
Rechecked every joint twice. The rib lacing holds. I am not a man of words, but I confess my hands will not be still until the machine is in the air.
16 December 1903
The propeller, true at last
We turned the blades until they run straight. The engine coughs but holds. I have written the pitch for the record. Tonight we do not speak of failure.