The History: The Wrights returned the next day with Bill Tate and made "free" glides. This was the first time that the glider was flown with a man onboard and untethered [without lines, without the ropes previously used to fly it as a kite]. The wind ranged from 12 - 14 miles per hour.

To do this the operator would lay down on his stomach on the lower wing. There was a hole in the middle of the lower plane [wing], so that the pilot could lower his legs and land in a more upright [standing] position.

Initially, the brothers wired the wing warping mechanism so that it could not move - only the front rudder could move. The front rudder controlled the pitch of the glider [nose up or nose down]. The wing warping mechanism controlled the up and down movement of the wings. To start the glide, Bill Tate and one of the brothers would run in the sand holding a wingtip until the glider caught the wind. Then they would run alongside the glider and press down on the wingtip when it began to rise. The operator would land when the two men could not keep up with the glider. They also found that the operator could land lying down and did not need to stand.

Successful at these initial glides, they tried to operate the wing warping mechanism as well. This was more difficult.

The Wrights made about a dozen flights today. Some glides lasted 5-10 seconds, others 15-20 seconds and 300-400 feet. These glides were comparable to both Lilienthal's and Chanute's double-decker glider flights. However, unlike these experimenters the Wrights had used mechanical means of controlling the glider. It was not dependent on the operator shifting his weight on the glider for control, which had ultimately caused Lilienthal's death.