Security was tight ahead of Bush's visit to the sand dunes near Kitty Hawk in North Carolina where Orville took to the air for 12 seconds on December 17,

But the main threat to event appeared to come from the strong winds and heavy rain -- the same perillous weather that the brothers faced -- that could hit the area for the re-enactment at 10:35am (1535 GMT).

The "Flyer" was extremely effective at handling just those conditions, said Kevin Kochersberger, who will pilot the replica. He said he is not too worried about rain.

"It truly is a flying machine, and I want to show that," he said, adding however that the plane "is very difficult to fly."

Kochersberger flew in the replica in November and early December, and said that on Wednesday he does not intend to further than 27 meters (120 feet).

Today Kitty Hawk, a thin strip of land off North Carolina coat, is a hot tourist attraction, with 40,000 permanent residents and more than 200,000 daily visitors in the summer.

A granite memorial to the Wright brothers overlooks the Kill Devil Hill sand dunes. But no idel gazing will be allowed for the visit by Bush.

The re-enactment will cap a series of celebrations of the centenary, including an exhibit of the original Flyer itself at the aviation museum in Washington.

Orville wrote in his diary on that day 100 years ago: "When we got up, a wind of between 20 and 25 miles (32-40 km) was blowing from the north. We got the machine out early and put out the signal for the men at the station.

"After running the engine and propellers a few minutes to get them in working order, I got on the machine," Orville continued.

Conditions had been tough. A failed takeoff December 14 damaged the plane. The brothers sought to try one last time to make it into the air before 1903 drew to a close.

Orville lay flat on his stomach across the biplane's lower wing, head first, his left hand on the rudder between two big wooden propellers, his body held down by a structure with cables attached.

Wright maneuvered the plane left and right by moving the cables. At the same time, pulling on rope made it possible to adjust the wing tips to ensure lateral control of the machine -- a revolutionary concept corresponding roughly to rudder movements on a modern day aircraft.

"At 10:35 for the first trial .... The machine lifted from the truck just as it was entering on the fourth rail (of the launch ramp). I found the control of the front rudder quite difficult ... As a result the machine would rise suddenly ... then as suddenly ... dart for the ground," Orville wrote in the diary.

Orville and his brother Wilbur estimated that their "Flyer" traveled about 120 feet (36.36 meters).

The men chose the North Carolina beach far from their native Ohio due to its frequence of strong winds and wide open beaches. They first made their calculations there three years ahead of their flight.

In a huge tent on the beach, the public will have access to a simulator of the Flyer flight, be able to examine a piece of lunar rock, speak to NASA astronauts or take a close-up look at a space shuttle engine.

Actor John Travolta, himself a pilot, will be master of ceremonies at the event here Wednesday. Bush was also a pilot in the Texas National Guard.

SPACE.WIRE