Flight Log: 1904 Huffman Prairie, Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio

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1904 Huffman Prairie, Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio
Wright 1904 Machine

At Huffman Prairie, at a field of 100 acres located about 8 miles from Dayton, the Wrights made 105 starts, the total flying time being about 50 minutes, enabling them to practice controlling and maneuvering their powered machine. The 1904 machine was similar in dimensions to the machine of 1903. The weight was increased and a new power plant was added similar to the 1903 motor but having a 1/8-inch large bore. Modifications were introduced during the year as experiments progressed and changes were deemed desirable to improve the performance of the machine.

DATE	FLIGHT	PILOT	TIME	DISTANCE	ALTITUDE	REMARKS
May 26		OW		ca. 25 ft.	ca. 6-8 ft.	Several pine spars were broken in landing, requiring postponement of further flights until repairs were made. The start of this flight was witnessed by Bishop Milton Wright, John G. Feight, Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Hale, Mrs. William Werthner, a press reporter, and several others. Rain and lack of wind prevented attempted flights on May 23 and May 25
Jun 10		WW		ca. 60 ft.		Machine struck ground because of faulty steering. Machine was damaged, preventing further trials until repairs were made.
Jun 21
	1			ca. 100 ft.
	2			ca. 100 ft.
	3	OW		225 ft.
Jun 23
	1			264 ft
	2					Tail damaged in landing.
Jun 25						Machine struck ground while turning at full speed and was damaged, preventing further trials until repairs were made.
July						Two trials made.
Aug 2						No systematic flight records were kept for 1904 by the Wrights before this date. The first flight on this date is recorded in Wilbur Wright's Diary E as No. 14 for the year
	1	WW		160 ft.
	2	WW		370 ft		End bow broken when machine landed near fence.
Aug 4
	1		10-2/5 sec. (down track)	195 ft
	2		20 sec. (from start on track)	272 ft.
Aug 5
	1	OW	4-3/4 sec.	60 ft.		236-ft. track used.
	2	OW	2-3/4 sec. (last 80 ft. on track)	356 ft.
Aug 6
	1	WW	8-1/4 sec. (down track)	600 ft		145-ft. track used.
	2	OW	7-3/4 sec.	235 m.
	3	WW	17-3/5 sec.	210 m.
Aug 8
	1	WW				Wing struck ground before leaving track.
Aug 10
	1	OW	17-2/5 sec.	205 m.		145-ft. track used.
	2	WW	20-3/5 sec.	640 ft.		Rudder and propeller broken.
Aug 13						195-ft. track used.
	1	OW		200 ft.
	2	WW	50-2/5 sec.	705 m.
	3	OW	26 sec.	425 m.
	4	WW	32-2/5 sec.	475 m.
Aug 16
	1	OW		432 ft.		160-ft. track used. Machine turned downward and was damaged when it landed on front rudder, breaking support.
Aug 22						160-ft. track used on first three flights.
	1	WW		400 ft.
	2	OW	44 sec.	635 ft.
	3	WW	7 sec.	175 ft.
	4	WW	48-1/2 sec.	630 ft.		195-ft. track used.
Aug 23
	1	OW	30-2/5 sec.	525 m.		Katherine Wright witnessed flight.
	2	WW	15-3/5 sec.	160 m.
Aug 24
	1	WW	39-1/5 sec.	530 m.		145-ft. track used. Machine was overturned and rudder frame broken when struck by gust of wind. Orville suffered body bruises and injured hand.
	2	OW	7-1/2 sec.	201 ft.
Sep 7
	1		9 sec.	89 m.		Catapult starting device first used on this date to aid in takeoff on their limited flying field and to make them more independent of weather conditions. Flight witnessed by Katharine Wright and Melba Silliman.
	2		7 sec.	200 ft.
	3	WW	39-1/4 sec.	610 m.
Sep 9
	1		8-4/5 sec.	79 m.
	2	WW	13-3/4 sec.	496 ft.
	3	WW	18 sec.	205 m.
Sep 13
	1	WW	10-4/5 sec.	140 m.
	2	WW	12-3/5 sec.	135 m.
Sep 14
	1	WW	23-2/5 sec.	370 m.
Sep 15
	1	WW	59-3/5 sec.	845 m.		First turn in air made, Wilbur making half circle.
	2	WW	54 sec.	835 m.
Sep 20
	1	WW	1 min. 5-3/5 sec.	1005 m.
	2	WW	1 min. 35-4/5 sec.	1505 m.		A complete circle was made for the first time. Flight witnessed by A. I. Root of Medina, Ohio, and Wright mechanic Charles E. Taylor.
Sep 26
	1	OW	8 sec.	70 m.
	2	OW	29-1/5 sec.	375 m.
Sep 27
	1	OW	18-3/5 sec.	209 m.
	2	OW	11 sec.	105 m.
	3	OW	8 sec.	75 m.
Sep 28
	1	OW	6-3/5 sec.	56 m.
	2	WW	12 sec.	115 m.
Sep 30
	1	OW	36 sec.	565 m.		Mr. Harshmann and Mr. Miller witnessed flight.
Oct 1
	1	OW	56 sec.	810 m.
	2	OW	55 sec.	870 m.		Wing tip of machine touched ground and skidded and front rudder struts were broken.
Oct 4
	1	OW	12-1/2 sec.	440 ft.
	2	OW	45-2/5 sec.	681 m.
Oct 11
	1	OW	1 min. 6 sec.	1010 m.
Oct 13
	1	OW				No start.
	2	OW	59 sec.	850 m. (?)
Oct 14
	1	OW	1 min. 22-1/4 sec.	1,220 m.
	2	OW	1 min. 38 sec.	1,505 m.
	3	WW	1 min. 27-3/5 sec.	1,495 m.
Oct 15
	1	OW	23-4/5 sec.	420 m.		Flight made in presence of Octave Chanute. Machine landed at speed of 45 to 50 miles an hour, skewed around, and was damaged requiring extensive repairs.
Oct 26
	1	WW	34 sec.	465 m.		Machine struck ground, breaking upper spar, skids, and propeller.
Nov 2
	1	OW	1 min. 26-2/5 sec.	1,290 m.		Four other Wright trials on this date were unsuccessful. Tail broken at start of fifth trial.
Nov 3
	1	WW	1 min. 27-2/5 sec.	1,325 m.		Two prior trials were unsuccessful. Wing struck ground, breaking propellers and tear lower spar.
Nov 9
	1	OW	18 sec.	255 m.		Second flight was best and longest of the year, witnessed by Brown and Reed of the Dayton, Springfield & Urbana Railway Co.
	2	WW	5 min. 4 sec.	Almost four rounds of field.
	3	OW	11-2/5 sec.	115 m.
Nov 16
	1	OW	56-4/5 sec.	820 m.
	2	OW	40-1/5 sec.	535 m.
	3	OW	19-1/4 sec.	650 ft. (over ground)
	4	WW	3 min. 10-3/4 sec.	2-1/4 rounds of field
Nov 22
	1			150-200 ft.		Five starts were unsuccessful due to improper gasoline regulation. Charles W. Furnas and Amos I. Root were among the witnesses.
Nov 25
	1	OW	25-1/5 sec.	335 m.
	2	WW	45-3/5 sec.	635 m.
	3	OW	45-2/5 sec.	690 m.
	4	WW	59 sec.	840 m.
	5	OW	1 min. 3 sec.	890 m.
Dec 1
	1	OW				Unsuccessful start.
	2	OW	8-4/5 sec.	85 m.
	3	OW	5 min. 8 sec. (?)	4,515 m.
Dec 5
	1	WW				Flight terminated after propeller was broken to pieces when it struck truck shortly after machine left track.
Dec 6
	1	WW				Gasoline shut off by mistake.
Dec 7
	1	WW	7-1/5 sec.	100 m.
Dec 9
	1	WW				Gasoline shut off by mistake.
	2	WW				Front rudder broken.