Why wasn the 1903 Wright Flyer put on display at the Smithsonian until 1948?
A. Answer provided by Tom Crouch, senior curator, Aeronautics Division: Orville Wright was involved in a major feud with the Smithsonian, 1914-1942, relating to Smithsonian insistence on identifying the 1903 Langley Aerodrome as the first machine “capable of flight.” It is a long and complex story. In the late 1920s, unable to get the Smithsonian to pay any attention to his concerns, Orville sent the world’s first airplane to the Science Museum in London, and vowed that it would not return until the SI dealt honestly with the issue of priority in the invention of the airplane. Smithsonian secretary Abbott finally produced an article that satisfied Orville, and he quietly arranged for the airplane to come home at the end of WW II. The Science Museum asked to hold on to it a little longer to produce an accurate replica. The aircraft was finally unveiled in the rotunda of the Arts & Industries Building. on December 17, 1948. The details are provided in my book, The Bishop’s Boys: A Life o
