Glen Ellyn team's plane fits 'Wright' in at Museum of Science and Industry

The Wright Redux's historic flight at Clow International Airport in Bolingbrook in October 2003 was witnessed by a select few, but anyone today can see the replica at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

The museum contributed $10,000 to the project, and builders Mark Miller and Tom Norton of Glen Ellyn agreed to donate the aircraft to the museum, where it begins the "Story of Flight" exhibition.

The teamwork shown by the underdog Wright Redux group has its parallels to Orville and Wilbur Wright, who were not expected to fly first, either, said Anne Rashford, the museum's director of special exhibitions.

"It was an incredible time for us at the museum," she said. "Their ability to organize this group of people in Glen Ellyn, it's an extraordinary story.

"Everyone was on the same page. There were no egos. It so mimicked the story of the Wright brothers. At the time, there were many people working to have a powered flight."

The Glen Ellyn group faced a challenge to be first from the nationwide, 180,000-member Experimental Aircraft Association, among others.

Kathleen McCarthy, director of collections and head curator, said the museum's founders tried to secure the original Wright flyer in 1928, to mark the 25th anniversary of the first flight. The effort fell short, but the Wright Redux donation "followed a dream of the museum," McCarthy said. "We're just honored it's here."