In late 1947 work on the Educational and Musical Arts drawings was
initiated under the direction of Louis P. Christman and carried
through to completion by him. Christman has stated that Orville Wright
was critical of the Science Museum drawings but just what he thought
incorrect is not known. Whatever his reasons, he did encourage
Christman to undertake the major task of duplication. Christman worked
directly with Orville Wright for a period of six weeks and had access
to all the records and parts the Wrights had preserved. The resultant
drawings are also very complete and, regardless of the differences
between these two primary sets, both give a sufficiently accurate
picture of the first engine for all purposes except that of exact
reproduction in every detail.
There exists a still unsolved puzzle in connection with what seems to
be yet another set of drawings of the first engine. In December 1943,
in writing to the Science Museum telling of his decision to have the
airplane and engine brought back to the United States, Orville Wright
stated, "I have complete and accurate drawings of the engine. I shall
be glad to furnish them if you decide to make a replica."[7] No trace
of these particular drawings can be found in any of the museums,
institutions, or other repositories that normally should have acquired
them and the executors of Orville Wright's estate have no record or
knowledge of them. The date of his letter is four years before the
Dayton drawings were commenced; and when Christman was working on
these with Orville Wright they had copies of the Science Museum
drawings, with complete knowledge of their origin, yet Christman has
no knowledge of the drawings referred to in Orville's letter to the
Museum. Finally, the evidence is quite conclusive that there were no
reproducible or permanent drawings made at the time the first engine
was constructed, and, of course, the reconstructed engine itself was
sent to England in 1928 and not returned to this country until
1948.[8]
[Footnote 7: The Science Museum expressed a desire to have these but
never received them. There is a reference to them in a letter to the
Museum from the executors of his estate dated 20 February 1948, but is
seems rather obvious from the text that by this time the drawings
mentioned by Orville Wright in his 1943 letter had become confused
with those being prepared by Christman for the Smithsonian
Institution. The Science Museum did have constructed from its own
drawings a very fine replica which is completely operable at this
time.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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