Selling the Wright Flyer to the Government
Lt. Frank P. Lahm Helped the Wright Brothers Make Aviation History
Dec 17, 2008
In 1906, Lt. Frank Purdy Lahm was assigned to the French Cavalry school in Samur, France. His father, Frank Samuel Lahm, had been living in France for several years, and father and son had made frequent balloon ascensions together.
Lt. Lahm received orders to return to America and report for duty at Fort Myer, Virginia with the newly created aeronautical division of the Signal Corps. However, typhoid fever prevented him from leaving France on time.
Lt. Lahm Meets the Wright Brothers
Lt. Lahm’s father had a lifelong interest in aviation and had been corresponding with Wilbur and Orrville Wright about their invention. While they were visiting France, the Wright brothers stopped by to visit him. Lt. Lahm happened to be recuperating at his father’s house at the time. That was how the three men met.
Lt. Lahm was very interested in their flights and asked the Wrights about their opinion of using the flying machine as a military weapon. He was surprised to learn that nothing had come of the Wrights’ efforts to sell one to the United States government. This conversation would begin a series of events that would eventually win the Wright brothers a government contract, with the help of Lt. Lahm.
Government Not Interested in Wright Flyer
By 1904, the Wright brothers were aware of their invention’s potential, but no government official would listen to them about the success of their test flights. The idea of an “aeroplane” – as they were then called – was the stuff of science fiction to most people living in the early 20th century.
After centuries of being bound to the Earth, no one could comprehend that someone had finally conquered the challenge of human flight. Although foreign governments had approached the Wrights about purchasing a plane, they firmly believed their own government should have the first chance to contract with them.
The Wright brothers had contacted the government several times, asking for an opportunity to demonstrate their plane. Again and again, they received letters saying that the government did not fund the projects of inventors. The Wright brothers could not seem to make anyone understand that they had already invented the plane -- they just wanted to show off what it could do!
Lt. Lahm Facilitates a Meeting for the Wright Brothers
In October 1907, Lt. Lahm took it upon himself to write a letter to the Chief Signal Officer, Brig. Gen. James Allen. Although Lt. Lahm would often understate his role, his letter finally opened a door for the Wright brothers, and Wilbur was asked to appear before the Board of Ordnance and Fortification.
Wilbur Wright made no fantastical claims about what they could do. He made a positive impression on the Board, who drew up a list of specifications for an airplane based on what the Wrights said their airplane could do. They said their machine could fly forty miles an hour, carry two people, land and take off without undue delay, and could easily be dismantled and loaded onto an escort wagon to be transported.
When the specifications were advertised, the government received 41 bids. The price tag on the bids varied from $100 to $10 million, and one man even claimed his airplane could fly at least 500 miles per hour! Three of the bidders were offered contracts, but only the Wrights could meet the specifications. They offered their plane for $25,000.
Three officers, including Lt. Lahm, advised President Theodore Roosevelt to make the $25,000 available for the Wrights. They signed a contract on February 10, 1908.
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