SD Air & Space Museum Running Replica of Wright Brothers Engine on Anniversary of Invention of Powered Flight

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is honoring the innovation, engineering, technology and aviation excellence displayed by Orville and Wilbur Wright by running an exact replica of the engine designer Charles E. Taylor developed for them to help them invent powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on Dec. 17, 1903, on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 9:45 a.m.

The running of the Wright Brothers’ engine will be exactly 121 years to the day the Brothers made the first powered flight in human history. Their engine was designed and built specifically for them by Charles E. Taylor.

The Wright Brothers – two of the most iconic figures in the history of aviation – were inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum as part of the Hall’s inaugural class in 1965.

“Orville and Wilbur Wright and Charles Taylor are three of the GIANTS in aviation innovation and technology. By inventing powered flight at Kitty Hawk on Dec. 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers set all of the amazing accomplishments in aviation and space exploration the world has seen since in motion,” said Jim Kidrick, president & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. Amelia Earhart repeating Lindbergh’s feat five years to the day later. Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in October, 1947. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin standing on the Moon in 1969. All of these amazing technological advancements in aviation and space innovation and exploration were a direct result of the pioneering and ‘can-do’ spirit of the Wright Brothers and Charles E. Taylor.”

Since 1963, the International Air & Space Hall of Fame has honored the world’s most significant pilots, crew members, visionaries, inventors, aerospace engineers, business leaders, preservationists, designers and space explorers.

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is California’s official air and space museum and education center. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and was the first aero-themed Museum to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

The Museum is at 2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego. The Museum and gift store are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with admissions until 4:30 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.