Huffman Prairie owes its relative fame
to one definite reason. It was conveniently located and mostly empty for
perfecting the Wright Brother's air planes.
Huffman Prairie was financially a more advantageous choice.
Orville and Wilbur Wright were paying for their experiments out of their own
pocket. Their expenses covered the material for their craft both to build and
replace parts from accidents. The travel and shipping costs for their trips to
Kitty Hawk were also a factor. They owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio that
had done very well as a business venture during the height of their popularity.
After the mid eighteen nineties bicycles were no less popular but there was
less of a demand as most everyone already had one causing profits to wane. Their financial means were
not in dire straits but they did have a limit. The prairie was eight miles east
of their home.[1][1] This significantly reduced travel expenses while allowing
them to keep regular up keep with their business. Equally important Mr. Huffman
allowed the men to use his land for free.[2][2] The only stipulation he gave was that the brothers had to
herd the animals out of harm’s way. The reduced cost of using the prairie gave
made the land its first chance at being more than just a pasture.
Huffman Prairie’s landscape both added and detracted
to its usefulness to the birth of practical flight. From Orville’s botany note
book there are a number of flower buds and trees carefully depicted with their
plant name.[3] It
shows that there was a diversity of fauna in the field and its attention to
detail gives it an almost fond air. However, it fails to paint the prairie as a
whole especially in relation to flying. Wilbur gives it a more appropriate
description “… a large meadow of about 100 acres. It is skirted on the west and
north by trees. This not only shuts off the wind but gives it a slightly
downward trend… the ground is an old swamp and is filled with grassy hummocks[4] some six inches high…”.[5] With the large amount of
land at their disposal there was enough space to set up their launching rail.
The prairie was well noted by the brothers for having changeable and unfavorable
wind patterns. This had never been an issue in Kitty Hawk. While hindering
their experiments forced the brothers to solve the problems. They constructed a
catapult launching tower that gave their machine the takeoff speed it needed
regardless of the wind.[6] This also had the benefit
of letting them keep their launching rail in one spot and shortening the
length. Rather than resetting it after each shift of wind they could take
several more test flights in a day. The prairie was also relatively secluded. Their
patent attorney, Henry A. Toulmin, had advised that they say little about their
invention and show less until their invention was protected by law.[7] The pasture while not
perfect for flying was well suited to the rigors of creating practical flight
and giving the Wrights the chance to work in relative peace. The lack of the
strong winds and seclusion of the prairie contributed to solving many of the
problems of flight and made it possible for the Wright brothers to finish their
invention before their rivals could challenge them properly.
It was due to their success and fame they gained that the Prairie became well known. Their flying school, the Air Force base, and the national heritage site recognition that came afterwards were only situated there because that is were the Wright Brothers flew. It was all a matter of convenience and trial testing.
[3]
Box
6, File 6, MS-2, Wright Brother’s Collction, Special Collections and
Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
[4]
“An elevated track of land rising above the general level of a marsh” hummock.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hummock
(accessed: November, 2014).
[5]
Marvin W. McFarland. Papers of Wilbur
and Orville Wright, Including the Chanute-Wright Letters and Other Papers of
Octave Chanute. Vol. One 1899-1905 (New York, 1972 ed.) p. 441
[6]
Walker, Lois E., and Shelby E. Wickam. From Huffman Prairie to the Moon p.
4
[7]
Crouch, Tom D. The Bishop's Boys p. 276
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