Figure 19.1: WWW19 Logo
Music
North Carolinian Bluegrass
Animation
We had a look at what North Carolina was famous for and dismissed NASCAR Racing in favour of the Wright Brothers first flight. To find out the dimensions of the Flyer we looked at the original patent and estimated the size of the hangar from the reconstructed buildings on the site.
Figure 19.2: Wright Brothers Hangar
Figure 19.3: Flyer Dimensions
The actual flight was performed with two rudders but we used artistic licence to only have one as in the original patent so that we could see the engines better.
The path_ology_3d library does not do hidden line elimination, so we needed to draw the parts of the flyer in the correct order to achieve the desired effect. That meant having 3 planes with parts in different orders depending on whether it was flying towards or away from the viewpoint or right to left. This is the main reason for the plane going out of sight on its travels as it is a different plane that reappears. The pilot controls the flyer by bending the front of the wing and using the rudder. The pilot is seated on a platform that moves sideways to perform some of the changes.
This was our first attempt at adding drop shadows and they certainly help to give a 3D view of the scene. We changed the position of the sun for the Opening and Closing Sessions. Not sure whether anybody noticed!
The Wright Brothers did have a cycle shop in Dayton, Ohio and did make tandems although there is no record of them having one at Kitty Hawk.
Figure 19.4: Wright Brothers on Tandem
At one stage we thought about changing the oak leaf in the logo into a Wright brother but it never looked right!
Figure 19.5: Leaf to Aviator