Derived from the Wright Model B, the EX had shorter-span wings and was designed for flight demonstrations.  Unlike earlier Wright airplanes, the EX had wheeled landing gear which facilitated takeoffs without the aid of a catapult or special launching rail.

Publisher William Randolph Hearst offered a cash prize for the first pilot to fly across the United States, from coast to coast, in 30 days or less.  Calbraith Rodgers was one of several aviators to answer the challenge.  In a Wright EX named Vin Fizz to promote his sponsor’s newest fizzy soft drink, Rodgers departed Broooklyn, New York in September 1911, bound for California and followed by a special support train that contained ground crew, repair equipment, and, crucially, legendary Wright associate and mechanic Charlie Taylor.

Some 49 days, 75 stops and over a dozen crashes of varying severity later, Rodgers and the Wright EX arrived in Pasadena California.  Rodgers was too late to win Hearst’s prize, but had nonetheless completed the first transcontinental crossing of the United States by air.

Specifications (Wright EX)

MTOW:  903 lbs

Powerplant:  Wright Vertical 4, 35 hp

Cruise Speed:  44 knots

Range:  110 nautical miles