The History: In Orville's personal journal he writes that they measured the height of Big Hill in the morning. They determined the distance from the bottom to the top of the hill to be 545 feet. Using an angle of 10 1/2° (10 1/2 degrees), they calculated the hill's height to be 99.32 feet.

Later that day they laid the foundation and floor of the new addition. Dan Tate who helped them earlier in the week could not help today because his wife was ill. Dan's son Tom brought over some supplies [milk and nails] and the mail.

Tom Tate had helped the Wrights back in 1900 during their first flying tests at Kitty Hawk. Tom was placed on and flew in the 1900 glider. As Orville wrote his sister Katherine in 1900, "Tom is a small chap ... that can tell more big yarns (a tall tale, an exaggerated story) than any kid of his size I ever saw."

Calculating the height of Big Hill would later help them determine the distance of their flights in their new glider.

Calculating the Height of the Hill