What better way to immortalize the achievements of the Wright Brothers than to build a 1:1 scale statue out of stone and set it in the Huffman Prairie Flying Field. This statue would be place to the launch catapult and depicts the moment of takeoff. Sometimes it is hard to imagine the sheer gravity of a situation until you see if happen first hand. This statue or would be a way of giving guests a glimpse into the past. A full scale model would give the field a greater sense of significance. It currently is a mostly empty field with a small tower and decaying wooden hangar. There are some walking paths cut through the plains. There currently aren’t many reasons to visit and there are fewer reasons to stay. This would give both.
The problem with this model is a lack of interactivity. Statues border on the line of decorations. If the object and the aim is to inspire future generations, then why are we limiting it to a fixed object. The Wright Brothers were doers and innovators. They have so much more to offer than just their legacy of the first flight. Their innovative spirit has the opportunity to live on. We shouldn’t kill that with a stone figure.
