The Spirit of Glen Ellyn

摘要

It began as a high school class project. Four years ago Peter Norton decided to build a full-scale model of a 1903 Wright glider, one of three powerless forerunners to the historic 1903 Wright Flyer, for a class project at his Glen Ellyn, Illinois, high school. He asked his father, Tom, for help. Together they enlisted the help of a Glen Ellyn custom furniture maker, Mark Miller. The three finished the class project―Peter got an A―but found themselves caught up in a dream. They wanted to build a working, flying replica of the Wright brothers' 1903 powered glider―the world's first powered plane that flew 120 feet on December 17, 1903. Thus, the Wright Redux Association was born―"redux" from the Latin meaning "brought back, revived." The Association and its founders have reached out for help and financial support from several sources. Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry invested $10,000 in the project and will develop an exhibit on the Wrights and their Chicago connections. National Geographic pledged $25,000 and has been filming the association's progress for a possible future documentary.