RDRickster Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 The U.S. is the undefeated champion of general aviation. We aren't taxed to death or over regulated (compared to every European county in the world). General aviation is a multi-billion dollar industry in America. We actually have it pretty darn good, and I'm glad in live in a place where the "common man" can experience personal flight... that's pretty awesome if you think about it. It all depends on how you define "first flight," but I've heard of a few controversies. I recently read an article (and can't find it anymore) about the Argentinian who claims to be the first flyer. He lived in France and had a derrigible, but eventually used powered flight (without ramps). To me, anything with an engine that takes the aircraft from Point A to Point B has got to be first. Some claim "foul" because the Wright Brothers used ramps to get things going (hey - we better stop those Navy guys). In the U.K., the BBC is running a special on "Percy Pilcher's Flying Machine"... Could an unknown Englishman have been the first ever person to fly? To mark the hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers' inaugural flight, Horizon tells the remarkable story of Percy Pilcher. He could have been the most famous aviator of them all. Four years before the Wright Brothers, he had constructed his own aeroplane. But on the day it was due to take off for the very first time, something so terrible happened that he was denied the chance ever to fly it. So Horizon has rebuilt his long lost flying machine to see if Percy Pilcher, the British amateur, could have claimed the glory and been the first ever person to fly. The film mixes dramatic reconstruction with contemporary scenes and gripping science. With a specially assembled team of historians, aviation experts and their own test pilot, Horizon has painstakingly rebuilt Pilcher's flying machine and put it to the test. I only get basic cable, mainly because I spend toooooo much time on this forum! (Damb it Rey, you've created quite the addiction). If anybody catches the BBC show tonight, let me know your thought tomorrow. Oh, and if anybody can post the link to that article about the Argentinian flyer, please do so. Even if the Wright Brothers weren't first (I think they were), their approach to aeronautics is quite amazing! The wind tunnel they created is just as much of an accomplishment as flying. Modern tests have only improved on their data by ONE or TWO PERCENT!!! That's incredible, given the super computers we have today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flingwing206 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 :devil:If you want the TRUE story of who was first, rent the documentry "Forgotten Silver". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmtetakao Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 see this... santos dumont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Ha!Has anybody heard of Lyman Gilmore Jr. out of Grass Valley CA?Add him to the list of 1st flight wannabes... :bowdown: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Ha!Has anybody heard of Lyman Gilmore Jr. out of Grass Valley CA?Add him to the list of 1st flight wannabes... :bowdown: http://www.goldnuggets.com/Gilmore/Gilmore.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badandy978 Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 What about Icarus? Then again does flapping your arms count as "powered" flight? :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplex Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 There are many technical problems with Flyer I 1903. The plane was unstable, underpowered and had propellers that appeared only in 1908, exactly in the same year when the Wright brothers flew for the first time in front of credible witnesses, more than 8 months after Orville Wright saw Henri Farman flying in Paris on November 18, 1907. The brothers simply lied about their flights in 1903-1905. They built their planes in France in 1908 with french engines (Barriquand et Marre), french propellers and using the entire French flight experience of 1908.see:http://wright-brothers.wikidot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeroscout Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Oh, a wiki reference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplex Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 "the brothers only “glided” off Kill Devil Hill that day. Their first real flight came on May 6, 1908", Alpheus W. Drinkwater, telegraph operator"Wilbur and Orville Wright are credited with making their first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine on Dec. 17, 1903. But AIpheus W. Drinkwater, 76 years old, who sent the telegraph message ushering in the air age, said the brothers only “glided” off Kill Devil Hill that day.Their first real flight came on May 6, 1908, he said." Source: New York Times, Dec. 17, 1951 (see the attachement). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 Shouldn't we be more interested in the first helicopter flight? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Meyrick Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 Shouldn't we be more interested in the first helicopter flight? Aye, and how about the FIRST intrepid dude who had a helicopter engine failure, and promptly figured out how to enter an auto???? That I would like to have seen... from the ground. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH206L3 Posted June 22, 2014 Report Share Posted June 22, 2014 Its all BS, The Wright Brothers documented well every thing they did. This nonsense come up from time to time. Here were I live they are trying to sell the notion that Gustave Whitehead invented the airplane and did it first. The problem with all of this is were is the documentation? The Wrights did it by the book, of course they wrote the book, and they gotten he pattens to boot. Moral of the story- if you are going to invent something revolutionary or ground breaking , be well documented on what and how you did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecop Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Oh, a wiki reference. Well. it's on the internet. It must be true. Did you also know I am dating a french model I met online? Bonjour... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeroscout Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Well. it's on the internet. It must be true. Did you also know I am dating a french model I met online? Bonjour...Plus size, or petite ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiecop Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I prefer the term "Husky". She's got a really deep voice too. Is that normal? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 The Wrights were not the first to fly. That's not controversial at all; there was never a claim that they were the first to fly. They were not the first to fly under their own power, either. What the rights did, and what is in dispute, was execute controlled flight under power in a heavier than air machine. The Wrights ensured their position by extorting the Smithsonian; the Smithsonian wanted the Wright Flyer used for their first flight, and they refused to donate it unless the Smithsonian officially declared the Wrights first. They leveraged their place in history over a donation, and their reputation and "history" has been hinged on the Smithsonian's lending of credibility ever since. The Wrights did not invent the airplane. The primary contribution of the Wrights wasn't getting in the air, at all. It was "wing warping," which fell by the wayside after Glenn Curtiss developed the aileron to it's more modern state, following a bitter patent war with the Wrights. The Wrights were ruthless when it came to competition for their product and their patent; in the end they kept their patent, but got bypassed by Curtis and others. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom22 Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hey Rickster, being from Texas you should know that Jacob Friedrich Brodbeck was to first to fly – LOL! https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbr63 The link is from the Texas State Historical Association. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 According to the stats "Rickster" hasn't been on VR in about 5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom22 Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Yeah, I noticed right after I posted my comment that the original post was from Dec 2003. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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