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The Octave Chanute Pages

 

 

Replicas of the Chanute Glider on Exhibit

 

  

 

Be sure to check out Stephan Nitsch's website. European experimenters with the Lilienthal and Chanute gliders. Watch a movie of a Chanute glider flights near Quedlinburg, Germany. 

Three glider replicas were built and flown in 1996, the Centennial year of Chanute's experiments

The closest that there is to a surviving Chanute glider is at the Musee de L'Air et de L'Espace at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France. The glider that they have there is the one built for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition. There used to be a picture of it on their website, but it is evidently gone, at least from the website. This a great museum for anyone interested in the history of flight. The web site is in French. The pictures aren't.

There are a number of replicas of the Chanute gliders on display around the country and the world. The chief builder of these replicas has been Johnny Litchenburg, who has build six or seven of them, including the one at the Smithsonian.


The following list, which may or may not be complete, is in no particular order. Most of the museums have web sites, but you may not necessarily find the Chanute exhibit listed in the web site. If you plan to travel to a museum to see the Chanute Glider, check with the museum first to make sure it's on display. Additions and/or corrections will be greatly appreciated.