1911 Wright Flyer Model B Replica - N1911L

A flying copy of the a 1911 Wright Flyer Model B was donated in 2011 by EAA Chapter 610, New Carlisle, Ohio, which built the aircraft over a four-year span beginning in 2001.

The aircraft stays true to the original save for some safety improvements in the flight controls, an engine from a Model A Ford, and a larger radiator, which only added 80 pounds to the original design.

The Model B was the first Wright-designed aircraft with wheels and the first to be licensed for production. A total of 19 chapter members participated in the construction, with many constructing parts in their own homes.  Making the trip from Ohio to deliver the plane to Pioneer Airport was Dick Alkire, Randy Barney, Jim Hocker, and Don Stroud. Dick worked on the engine and skids, Jim built the seats, and Don flew the plane on the two flights it has made so far. The airplane first flew in October 2005 with several short hops up and down the runway at New Carlisle Airport in Ohio.

A year later they would fly the aircraft again at a nearby airport in an attempt to get it to a higher altitude and make some turns.  During that flight, Stroud was able to climb up and make three circuits around the field during the six-minute flight.

The project had its beginnings when Alkire and two others were asked by the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to restore the only remaining original Wright B Flyer. The aircraft was brought to New Carlisle and the chapter got permission to copy the parts while they were completing the restoration. Because it’s a flying replica, the aircraft has the N number 1911L and its airworthiness, according to Jim Hocker, was the source of some competition between Cincinnati and Dayton FSDOs for the final inspection.