Orville Wright himself suggested that if the original parts of the 1905 plane could be brought together, a plane which could truly be called a restored Wright aeroplane could be built. An exhaustive search was begun and with the co-operation of the museums and the residents of Kitty Hawk, many of the original parts were secured. Orville Wright located the original drawings and supervised much of the reconstruction. His death occurred shortly before the plane was finished. At least 60 per cent of the parts in the plane are original. These include the engine, the chain guides, control levers and pilot’s cradle, the propellers, the greater part of the wing structure as well as some of the front rudder struts. Construction of the plane was supervised by Mr. Harvey D. Geyer, an early employee of the Wrights, who was uniquely fitted for this responsibility and who, in contributing his services, has done much to perpetuate the achievements of the Wrights in their home city. As does the original Kitty Hawk in the Smithsonian Institution, this restored plane will, for generations to come, help to tell the story of the genius of the Wrights. [Illustration: Newspaper headlines] Recognition ... at home and abroad [Illustration: King Edward VII visits Wright brothers during flights at Pau, France.] A world that has convinced itself something cannot be done, yields slowly to the realization that the “impossible” has been achieved. When the Wrights approached their own government with the suggestion that their invention might be useful for scouting purposes their proposal evoked no interest. Actually, appreciation of the implications and possibilities of the new device came more quickly from Europe than America. England and France were among the first to seek information on the machine that had so thoroughly proved its ability to fly. As early as 1905 a member of the French military had at least made unofficial inquiry as to the cost of a plane, but for a time this led to nothing. In 1907 the United States government realized that the Wrights had proved the practicability of flying. The Signal Corps drew up specifications and asked for bids. The Wrights offered to build a test plane for $25,000. Their bid was accepted in February, 1908. Three months later they signed a contract with a French syndicate to sell or license the use of the plane in France. The Wrights were now in the international picture. [Illustration: King Alfonso XIII of Spain was keenly interested in flying, but promised his family that he would not make flight.]