Why a picture of the 1910 Flyer? Because it is the only plane in which both Wright Brothers were flying simultaneously. Their father, known as the "Bishop," really asked them never to fly together--after all, would you risk two sons in such a risky venture? So, Dean Mosher is commissioned for this picture. To be as authentic as possible, he approached model craftsman "Peco" Forsman of Silverhill to build an accurate scale model which would allow him to understand the nuances of light and shadow around and through the 1910 Flyer, which was constructed of wood and muslin and some metal parts. Pictures from the times of the actual 1910 Flyer, were compromised by gray/silver paint used to obscure photos and subvert company espionage. It turns out that the Wright Brothers used that gray paint to limit details and measurements which would have been used for stealing and making copies of that plane. You can see the difficulties for Peco--German blue prints and no usable photographs for purposes of constructing an authentic scale model replica of the 1910 Flyer!
Smithsonian blue prints were obtained and light and shadow issues were dealt with. But then comes the whiz-bang! The Flyer model had to work like a real airplane. Peco built the model to a scale of 1.5 inches to the foot which brought the wingspan of the model to about 60 inches or so. The wings were constructed so that they would twist and warp just like the actual plane did some 90 years ago, responding to working scale model controls. The struts and ribs of the plane were built of the same materials as the original. Ash (think of tough wood used in ax handles and baseball bats) and spruce were fabricated to accommodate wings with 1:20 camber. This all-wood plane with muslin wing fabric was strengthened by cables which stiffened the individual components of the plane.
Many people are unaware of the versatility of those Wright Brothers. Not only did they build the plane, but they fabricated an aluminum engine for it! It had no carburetion, the fuel merely dripping into the cylinders. The engine could run as fast as that drip. It generated about 100 horsepower and used chains to drive two counter-rotating props. In the scale model, Peco "roughed in" the motor and its radiator cooling system, trusting that Painter Mosher as artist would replicate the actual motor, but the chain prop-drive system in the model represents the actual mechanism used by the Wright Brothers.
Every part of the Wright Brothers 1910 Flyer was fabricated by Peco except for the chain, the bolts and brass nuts. Assembly line construction of original Flyers was somewhat "loose," the plans changing slightly from week to week. So, the end product did change during the assembly line production of the times and the actual date of production. What didn't change was the muscle needed to control the plane. Controls were dual controls and were all muscle-driven. The muscles of both Wright Brothers were needed to get the thing to fly and be under manual control.
Time required for construction of this model (building this plane accomplished from April 2002 to October 2002) was only part of the task for Artist Mosher. By the time his commissioned painting was completed, two to three years of additional research was required to assemble land surveys, old maps, and pictures from 1910 to determine the background to complete the scene of this 1910 Flyer depicted in the painting. Mosher’s finished work, "Bishops' Boys," is an eight by ten foot painting of the Wright Brothers flying their 1910 Flyer over Huffman Prairie Flying Field in Ohio, “worried” father below. This highly researched work resides in the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio. Additional information concerning the painting and its home is available at the Dayton Aviation Heritage website.
