December 17, 2003 - The engine started, the props whirred, the aircraft rolled out along the rail and lifted up preparing for flight, but in the end, weather conditions got the best of the Wednesday afternoon's attempt to recreate the first powered flight from 100 years ago at Kitty Hawk.
But those involved did not express disappointment at a debriefing session following a planned but abandoned second attempt later in the afternoon.

"I'm not disappointed at all," said Ken Hyde, founder of The Wright Experience. "Sure, I would have liked to see the airplane fly today, but the conditions did not allow that to happen. We have seen the airplane fly three times in the (November) encampment and we learned so much. We have the data to show that.

"We had hoped that this cold front would come through and the winds would switch around to the northwest to give us the ideal winds that we wanted," he continued. "They didn't, we got winds out of the southwest, which we could live with, but we never got much over 10 knots, and most of the time 6 or 8. That's not enough for this airplane." 10 to 12 knots is ideal, Hyde added.

The high humidity levels also played a role, robbing the engine of about 50 rpms and preventing it from generating the sufficient horsepower to properly propel the airplane.
Add to that, as soon as it launched in the earlier attempt, the wind died.

Dr. Kevin Kochersberger, who piloted the aircraft in its attempt at 12:28 p.m., said the reaction of the 35,000 people who ringed the flight area and covered the hill leading to the monument told him that it was a success, even thought it only got about six inches of altitude on a one-second flight.

"The enthusiasm of the crowd here showed just how much interest there was in what we we've discovered about the Wright brothers. Seeing this airplane as they did, go down the rail, the sights the sounds that we had today, to me that was really important and it was an emotional experience and I think the crowd felt the same thing. I'm happy with it."