USU’s Wright Flyer is topic of lecture

A reconstruction of the Wright brothers‚ 1905 plane, a project that has taken more than 10,000 hours of effort by Utah State engineering students, has had more than 100 successful flights, and is the topic of the next Friends of the University Libraries lecture at Utah State University.

The lecture, “Re-invention of the Wright Brothers Plane,” is Wednesday, June 18, and features David Widauf, executive director of the Wright Flyer project and associate professor in the industrial technology and education department at Utah State.

Widauf will speak at Utah State University at 4 p.m. in room 046 of the Eccles Science Learning Center. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The lecture gives an overview of how the project came about, student involvement with the project, building and flight of the plane and how far aviation has come since the Wright brothers took their first powered flight on Dec.17, 1903.

“It‚s important to talk to people about the history and heritage of the technology we take for granted today, such as flying,” said Widauf. “It puts into perspective how rapidly aviation has progressed since 1903.”

Widauf will also describe the modern materials used for the reconstruction, materials that would be available to the Wright brothers if they were alive today.

John Ellsworth will present the next lecture on June 25. The title of his lecture is, “When the Fire Went Out ~ Capturing Yellowstone History on Film.”