'Hard to put a price on history': Replica Wright Flyers built by New Philly man in auction

Kiko Auctioneers will be handling the online auction of a 1905 Wright Flyer III Replica and two Authentic Replica Wright Gliders through Memorial Day weekend, with the final bids taken before 6 p.m. Monday.The flyers are part of the estate of Mark Dusenberry, who died in 2022. Dusenberry’s story was highlighted in The Times Reporter before he passed, where he said his work in building the replicas was inspired early on by books about Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright.

"They're all turn-of-the century experimenters, individualists," said Dusenberry in the previous article. "Back then, it wasn't like there was a corporation. It's just, you know, go for it, on an individual basis. I was always really interested in the industrial revolution, 1880s. I just was sort of interested in history, and how things were made, and airplanes of course."By 2003, Dusenberry had finished building a working copy of the 1905 Wright Flyer III, which he flew in 2005, 2007 and 2009 at Huffman Prairie. The 1905 flyer was also used in a 2008 movie about the Wright brothers, "On Great White Wings," made by Aperture Films and narrated by Martin Sheen. The replica was used for the Huffman Prairie shots and was used in the film's computer-generated imagery. Both Dusenberry and New Philadelphia's Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1077 were credited in the film.“It's hard to put a price on history,” said auctioneer Jarod Limbach, who will be handling the sale of the replicas, noting he has no guess how much the planes might go for at auction. “It’s what the buyers are willing to pay. Everyone we’ve talked to has said it’s built so close to spec you’d think the Wright Brothers built it.”Dusenberry last flew the 1905 model on Oct. 1, 2009, when it crashed during a practice flight for the re-enactment of a historic flight made by Wilbur Wright 104 years earlier at Huffman Prairie. The crash left him a paraplegic but didn’t stop him from rebuilding the flyer and then building replicas of the Wrights’ 1911 glider.

“I would never have thought someone was building something like that just 30 minutes from my house,” said Limbach. “This is a first for me, something of such caliber and this deep-rooted into history. It’s something we don’t take granted — a truly unique experience.”Anyone interested in bidding on the flyer can see it in person or see the photos online. The sale opened at noon on May 22 and will close at 6 p.m. on Memorial Day, May 27. Bidders can register at any time during the auction.“When it comes down to the last day, that’s when the most bidding happens,” said Limbach. “In the last 2 minutes, if someone makes a bud, it extends the auction for another 2 minutes and it keeps going like that until it’s done. It gives everybody a fair chance.”He said for bidders that are busy, the online auction does have a max bid function.“You enter the top dollar you’ll spend and it will bid for you if someone bids against you,” said Limbach. “So, you don’t have to sit there and watch it.”Limbach said he expects a lot of bidders and they’ve reached out to several museums and historic entities who might be interested in such a detailed replica of historic planes.The late Dusenberry had a background in engineering and trained as a chemical engineer. He worked as civil engineer for the Ohio Department of Transportation and used his own wits to figure out how to recreate the Wrights' originals."There were no plans for this," he told The Times Reporter in the original article. "Believe it or not, I just went off pictures to build this plane. I had no blueprints to build this one. They're nonexistent."Dusenberry’s work ethic and sheer will to build and fly the replicas might be worth more than the planes themselves, showing something the Wright Brothers had in common with Dusenberry — an innovative spirit.“What (Dusenberry) did is impressive,” said Limbach. “We hope we see that reflected in the auction this weekend.”

The auction page can be found at www.kikoauctions.com/upcoming/details/15446

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Replica Wright Flyers built by New Philadelphia man up for auction