Did you know...

[C/Awesomenesss]

Did you know that the Wright Brothers weren't the first people to fly?

[SarDragon]

That is absolute nonsense. Why did you even bother to post it?

[FlyTiger77]

Yes.

[inactive123]

Yes... The first person to fly powered was Gustav Whitehead. He flew in Bridgeport, CT. My previous squadron represented that area. On some AE club meetings, we went on a Gustav Whitehead search. I have found where he was buried, where he lived, where he flew over, his memorial, and where he landed. Also, a historian in that area built a full scale model of the plane, and my squadron had the opportunity to see it.  CT Aeronautical Association recognized his achievements in the 1950's, but it just came up now to be more popular.

[C/Awesomenesss]

Yes... The first person to fly powered was Gustav Whitehead. He flew in Bridgeport, CT. My previous squadron represented that area. On some AE club meetings, we went on a Gustav Whitehead search. I have found where he was buried, where he lived, where he flew over, his memorial, and where he landed. Also, a historian in that area built a full scale model of the plane, and my squadron had the opportunity to see it.  CT Aeronautical Association recognized his achievements in the 1950's, but it just came up now to be more popular.

My squadron has a aerospace question every week and that one of the question.

[SarDragon]

The September 2013 issue of the Smithsonian Air & Space has an article that casts much doubt on Mr. Whiteheads alleged accomplishments. Check it out.

[sardak]

Or this thread from March where the same topic was discussed because of an article in Flying Magazine.

http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=17120

Mike

[Eclipse]

Mr. Whitehead's claims are suspect at best.  I sure hope your squadron didn't present this anecdote as "fact", because
it certainly isn't accepted as such.

[TarRiverRat]

NC also has a citizen that claimed to fly before the Wright's.  Can not remember his name but have seen a copy of his aeroplane in a museum here.  I do not believe that he got it off the ground.

[PHall]

Octave Chanute claimed to have flown before the Wright's too. He too was disproved.

[TarRiverRat]

Found the below information from Murfreesboro NC concerning the claim to first in flight prior to the Wrights.  There is a table top model and an full size model of the plane at the museum.


http://www.murfreesboronc.org/agtransport.htm

JAMES HENRY GATLING AIRPLANE


This is the first known man-powered airplane built and flown in America. Model of the Gatling Airplane
What a thrill it is to see a replica of America's first airplane built 30 years before the Wright Brothers!

James Henry was a resident of Maney's Neck in Hertford County, near Murfreesboro. On a brisk Sunday afternoon in the Fall of 1873, Gatling, sitting in the cockpit of his invention, with hands and arms furiously turning the cranks of his fan blowers, reportedly glided a little over 100 feet from a platform constructed approximately 12 feet above the ground. As he descended through the trees and bushes before settling in a rather rough and damaged fashion amid an open field, James Henry Gatling put North Carolina, as well as Murfreesboro, on America's aviation map!

Utilizing hand cranks to power fan-like blowers, Gatling's plane embodied features later implemented in the "Wright Flyer" of 1903, such as flexible wings, a movable stabilizer and a vertical rudder at the plane's tail end.

[4fhoward]

Montgolfier brothers 21 November 1783

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers#Early_experiments

Also the US Army was using balloons during the Civil War.

[lordmonar]

Montgolfier brothers 21 November 1783

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers#Early_experiments

Also the US Army was using balloons during the Civil War.

IIRC it was Chinese guy who tied himself to a kite.  Then there was the emperor who tied a hundred rockets to his throne.

  Or if you want to go Greek it was Icarus and Daedalus who flew first.   

[PHall]

Montgolfier brothers 21 November 1783

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers#Early_experiments

Also the US Army was using balloons during the Civil War.

IIRC it was Chinese guy who tied himself to a kite.  Then there was the emperor who tied a hundred rockets to his throne.

  Or if you want to go Greek it was Icarus and Daedalus who flew first. 

Mythbusters disproved the hundred rockets tied to the throne one.

[4fhoward]

IIRC it was Chinese guy who tied himself to a kite.  Then there was the emperor who tied a hundred rockets to his throne.

  Or if you want to go Greek it was Icarus and Daedalus who flew first.   

I'm sorry I should have been more clear.

What is "The Montgolfier brothers were the first to fly in recorded history, and not in myth." Alex

I'll take aviation history for $200.

[Brad]

Google up the story about the contract the Smithsonian entered into to get the Wright Flyer. One of the conditions was that they had to state the Wright Flyer was the first powered flight craft. This makes reference to Gustav's flight as well.

[TexasCadet]

Actually, the first man to fly was a caveman who jumped off a cliff while holding a big leaf.

But seriously, the Montgolfiers, as 4fhoward posted, were the first people to officially fly.

[PHall]

Oh, I'm sure there was a "not-so-willing volunteer" who got to see if it was possible to catapult someone over a castle wall before then.

[TarRiverRat]

If we are talking the first to fly then it is correct to say the Wrights were not the first, but if you are talking about powered flight then the Wrights were the first.

[Panache]

Oh, I'm sure there was a "not-so-willing volunteer" who got to see if it was possible to catapult someone over a castle wall before then.

The flight itself was fine.  The landings were a real bugger, though.