November 13, 2001

YMCA CAMP KERN IN OREGONIA, OH LOANS WRIGHT EXPERIENCE HISTORIC PROPELLER FROM FIRST PUBLIC FLIGHT MADE IN 1908

1904 Propeller used by Wright Brothers has been displayed in YMCA Camp Kern dining hall for more than 50 years. Photo credit: Dale Whitford

November 12, 2001, Warrenton, Virginia - The Discovery of Flight Foundation's aircraft production team, led by Ken Hyde of The Wright Experience", announced today they will begin a careful and extensive examination of a left-hand 1904 prop used by the Wright brothers. This historic original artifact is on generous loan from YMCA Camp Kern in Oregonia, Ohio. The Wright Experience already has on loan from Marianne Miller Hudec, grand niece of Wilbur and Orville Wright, a 1904 prop used at LeMans.

Reporters and photographers are invited to a press conference to interview David Steele and Ken Hyde at 11:00 am Friday, November 16 at YMCA Camp Kern in Oregonia, OH when the propeller will be handed over to The Wright Experience. Please call David Steele (513) 932-3756 ext. 12 for additional details and directions.

"We owe a great deal of thanks to the Camp Kern and the Dayton YMCA family for loaning us the 1904 propeller," said Hyde. "To be able to have two props that were used by the Wrights is truly remarkable. This will be the first time that we will be able to analyze and evaluate two propellers which were actually built by Orville and Wilbur Wright. I've said this often, but it's always worth repeating, that when we are able to examine original artifacts we gain so much information and knowledge about what the Wright Brothers did, but more importantly, how they solved the problem of flight in only 4 short years.

"The more artifacts the Wright Experience has the opportunity to examine, the more we are able to fill in the missing pieces of history. We will have time to document and build reproduction propellers and test them in the Langley Full Scale Tunnel, operated by Old Dominion University."

Said Dave Steele, Executive Director YMCA Camp Kern, "The staff, volunteers and campers are pleased to learn that the 1904 propeller that has been displayed at YMCA Camp Kern's dining hall for the past 52 years, played such a prominent role in the history of aviation and the contributions of the Wright Brothers.

"YMCA Camp Kern is proud to temporarily loan the 1904 Wright Brother's propeller to the Wright Experience of Warrenton, VA and it's founder Ken Hyde to assist in the historical research of the important scientific work performed by Wilbur and Orville Wright."

Background

The propeller was donated to YMCA Camp Kern by the Wright Brothers Estate in May of 1949. The gift was made through the efforts of Mr. Hap Ellis, a neighbor of the Wright family and an appraiser of the Wright Estate. The gift to YMCA Camp Kern was made by the Wright Estate in the hope that it would inspire the boys that attended summer camp.

The propeller has been displayed for the past 52 years in a specially created display case imbedded in the stone fireplace of the Main Dining Hall, which was under construction at the time of the donation from the Wright Brothers estate.

About YMCA Camp Kern

YMCA Camp Kern was established by Carl B. Kern, the boy's youth secretary of the Central YMCA, in Oregonia, Ohio in 1910. Originally called Camp Ozone, it was re-named Camp Kern as a memorial to C.B. Kern after he was killed in a tragic collision with an interurban trolley, while on his way to set up the camp before the summer season in 1917. YMCA Camp Kern was the first electrically wired camping facility in the U.S. after "Boss" Kettering himself installed the wires and lights around the campsite in 1921.

YMCA Camp Kern is a 420-acre year round outdoor education, summer resident camp and conference center that serve children and families with a variety of educational and recreational programs. Owned and operated by the YMCA of Greater Dayton since 1910, YMCA Camp Kern is presently the largest resident camping program in the State of Ohio with an annual operating budget of 2.2 million dollars and serves over 20,000 annual program participants. YMCA Camp Kern's major programs are; Summer Resident Camp; Outdoor Environmental Education, (for more than 120 area elementary schools); Group Conference Services; Leadership Development, (programs for area high schools, colleges and management teams); and Equestrian Programs.

For more information about the programs of YMCA Camp Kern, please visit their website at www.campkern.org for general information about programs, mission and facilities or call 513-932-3756.

About the Discovery of Flight Foundation

The Discovery of Flight Foundation was established in 1999 to attract the resources necessary to preserve and promote the legacy of early aeronautical invention. The non-profit foundation seeks to rediscover the Wright Brothers' experimentation, discovery and methodology, provide for the remanufacture of original Wright Brothers' aircraft, and create a living classroom for school children and people of all ages.

To achieve this ambitious plan, the Foundation has assembled the leading experts in the world. The production team, headed by Ken Hyde of The Wright Experience", will research, design, build and test authentic, full-scale reproductions of the Wright Brothers' developmental aircraft and engines.