What if? What if Wilbur and Orville Wright had been blessed with the presence of Al Rabe and Bill Werwage as the two brothers attempted to build and fly their first powered Wright flyer. ( I’m sure Al and Billy would have given valuable help in designing the Flyer. Ukie )
The
Scene: Dayton, Ohio, in the bicycle shop, September, 1903
Wilbur: “Orv, the glider worked OK, but for powered
flight we need a bigger airframe and more lift to support the engine and
the pilot.”
Al: “Yes, that’s right guys, my experiments
with the Bearcat XVII wing on the hood of my Plymouth at 55 mph proved
conclusively without a doubt that the 25% airfoil is the best.”
Orville: “The hood of your what?”
Bill: “Remember Al, this is 1903, the only Plymouth
these guys know about is the rock and the
Chicken. Besides, George Aldrich is only 21 years old and hasn’t
invented the Nobler yet.”
Wilbur:“OK, so we’ll build a flyer with two
wings. We’ll need about 100 ribs and something to make the spars
out of.”
Bill: “You mean that you’re not going to
use I-beam construction? But, its the only thing I use and its so Iight.
All my Ares, USA-1’s and the Juno’s feature this. I won the
World Championships twice with this wing.
Al: “I don’t think the I-beam will work with
this plane because there’s no fuselage. And I called up Lampione
and he said I was right. Darn, now they won’t be able to use my
molded balsa fuselage sides. Would you guys like to see my picture books?”
Wilbur: “Molded what? Now, let’s see Orv,
what size should we make these wings to best support the flyer?”
Bill: “You can use some of my old wings. Here is
my 1961 Super Ares wing that I’ve used in four different airplanes,
including my 1966 Half-A stunter and my 1970 RC pattern ship with the
Bob Paul-Aloise-Wallich-257 cu. in. Chevy engine. Just be certain that
the wing loading is low.”
Al: “Don’t worry about wing loading, I never
do. Just keep putting more horsepower on the front, er, in the middle
of the wing, or wings, or where ever you guys plan to put the engine.
My experiments have conclusively proved that if you have 1000 H.P. on
your flyer it should hold out good in the square eight.”
Orville: But Al, the engine we’re using only has
13 H.P. and anything bigger we try to put on the wing will be too heavy.”
Al: “You haven’t got a chance with 13 H.P.
My Como-Aloise-Rabe-Wilder Supertigre-95 engine in my latest Bleriot flyer
has 2.5 H.P. and as soon as I can get a 15-9 prop from Zinger it will
fly even better.”
Wilbur: “Yes, Al, but we don’t plan to put
panel lines, shading, numbers, fake gun ports, and camouflage on the flyer
so we won’t need all that horsepower.”
Bill: “But, its got to have a pretty paint job
- - - all of my planes do.”
Al: “Why in the world did you guys come down here to fly?”
Orville: “Well, we can get a steady wind of about 25 m.p.h. here!”
Bill: “Yah, Al, we could have just stayed at Dayton and directed your voice toward their airplane”.
Al: “When the AMA hears about the wind we’ll probably have the Nats here next year. Is there
a place for the R.C. Banquet? Those are the two requirements for a Nats site.”
Wilbur: “Remember, we have to use the controls to warp the wings when one drops.”
BiII: “A warp - hold everything, I’m not associating with anything that has any warps. Maybe
we should call up John Poynter or Bobby Hunt on the phone and order a foam wing for
these novices.”
Orville: “Call on what?”
Al: “Get some of those California guys here - they’re warped,”
Bill: “No, they’re too busy having parties at Whitely’s and Fancher’s houses.
Al: “Do you guys have enough wingtip weight for the first flight? I usually start out with
about four ounces.
Wilbur: “Wingtip Weight?”
Bill: “Well see, if you’d have built the flyer with unequal panels, say about four feet of difference like my Ares and Juno’s, then you wouldn’t have to worry about tip weight.”
Orville: “But, that would make it go in a circle !”
Bill and A: “Now you’re getting the point.”
Orville: “’Wilbur, let’s get this thing on the track and try to get it up in the air”.
Bill: “That’s a funny looking stooge, you been talking to Baron?”
Wilbur: “Flip the coin to see who goes up first.”
Bill: “That’s how you choose your props isn’t it Al ?”
Al: “Now remember Orville, the first flight just take it easy and don’t do any square maneuvers..... like I do on my first flights.”
Bill: “Gee, Al, most of us thought that you’ve never done any real square maneuvers with those hulks of yours........”
Wilbur: “Well, here goes.”
Bill: “Wait a minute, did you put the cowl back on after fueling up?”
Al: “You’d think a guy who has been going to the Nats since 1955 would know how to put gas in his plane without taking off the cowl.”
Bill: “But its got to be pretty all the time.”
Bill:
“Boy, aren’t you guys nervous, this is the big day?”
Orville: “Well sure, but if your buddy keeps shining
his white shoes we’ll all be blinded.”
Al: “Just look at Bill’s black T-shirt, that’s
the one he posed with in his 1960 magazine article, his only article.”
Wilbur: “Darn, the control wire to the aileron
broke.”
Al: “Don’t worry, Bill can use some of his
guitar strings, he’ll sound the same with or
without them.”
Orville: “Thanks guys, we would have had to postpone
the attempt without the wire. I need something to cut it with.”
Al and Bill: “What else, use a Stiletto.”
Bill: “I hope this works today so we can go home.
I’m tired of watching Al rebuild the engine
four times every night at the motel,”
Orville: “What’s a motel?”
Al: “That’s a place where New York and New
Jersey people build and paint airplanes.”
Wilbur: “Let’s make sure the skids are on
the track.”
Bill: “The last time I saw a plane with skids it
was Gabris at the ‘70 World
Championships. Well, I beat him anyway. He spent too much time listening
to Gialdini
and his “Evolution of the Sting Ray Story.”
Orville: “What do you guys use for an undercarriage?”
Al: “Well, all my planes have tires on them taken
from Jeep CJ-7’s.”
Bill: “I use rejects from the indoor models. They’re
pretty light.”
Wilbur: “It sure is lonely out here, look only
one photographer.”
Al: “That’s Wynn, someday he’ll learn
how to fly and won’t have to play boy reporter.”
Orville: “I hope we fly this thing before Langley
gets his in the air.”
Al: “Me too, cause here comes some guy with a red
Nobler, I know that’ll fly.”
Bill: “Does Langley fly classic or semi-scale planes?
They need pretty paint jobs . . .“
Wilbur: “Its a shame the press isn’t here
in force to record this historic date.”
Bill: “Well, you can’t help it. This isn’t
Radio Control and so the A.M.A.
P.R. budget doesn’t cover it . . . . .”
