Winter 1904 Lawyers and patents St. Louis competition Dealing with the press Reports of the first flight The Rascals D.A.Willey – and A. Herring Begin work on 3 engines 4 inch bore - 4 cylinder 4 1/8 inch bore – 4 cylinder 4 inch bore - 8 cylinder (never completed) Begin work on 3 airframes Assemble the ‘04

Spring 1904 Begin mid-May Press Invited Engine problems Weather problems Handling problems Stalls Decide to move CG in July Propulsion tests

Summer 1904 Gaining experience Begin to make turns (Flt 15 - Aug 2) Take-off problems (236 ft track) Many crashes - pine spars Propulsion tests Exceeds KH flight (1340 ft Flt 28 -Aug13)

Fall 1904 First use of catapult (Flt 40 – Sept 7) Half circle (Flt 49 – Sept 15) First complete circle (Flt 52 – Sept20) Spectators Propulsion tests Can’t stop turns (Flt 54 – Sept 26) Increase altitude – fly over cattle (Flt 70 – Oct14) Stake pulled out! Multiple circle flights (Flts 68, 70, 75,80, 82, 87, etc.) 4 circle-5 minute flights (Flt 82 – Nov 9) (Flt 100 – Dec 1) Accidental engine shut-offs 105 flights - 45 total minutes by Dec 9

Winter & Spring 1905 Alternate locations Propulsion tests Finish new airframe Letters to the War Department Foreign visitor

Summer 1905 Begin new flight tests Jun 23 Problems with early flights Design changes blinkers separate rudder control Big crash (Flt 9 – Jul 14) Re-design front rudder Resume flights Aug 24 Duplicate best ’04 flight by Flt 21-Sep 6

Fall 1905 Multiple circle flights (Flts 15, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24) First figure 8 (Flt 25-Sep 8) Propulsion tests New props and sprockets on Sept 25 Enlarge and move rudder Sep 26 – 18 min flt, Sep 28 – 9 min flt The Honey Locust Sep min flt, Sep 30 – 17 min Oct 3 – 25 min, Oct 4 – 33 min (hot bearings)

October 5, 1905 (Flt 48) – 24 ½ miles - 38 minutes 3 sec fuel exhausted Mission Accomplished Story appears in Daily News and Cinci Post Experiments discontinued for the present Letter to Secretary of War