John Dupre wrote:
1) Wright Flyer. The Wrights were geniuses not tinkerers. They understood almost all the problems of sustainable powered flight before they ever tried to fly. Whitehead et al may have hopped, they may even have turned 180 degrees or so but they couldn't do it consistently and they didn't understand why.
Ultimately, the Wrights advanced aviation further than most of the pioneers.
But to give the Wrights credit for being first in flight is simply not accurate. Whitehead's "hops" of 1901 and '02 were of considerably greater distance than the Wright's flights of December, '03. If the Wrights receive credit for Kitty Hawk, it would seem hypocritical to deny Whitehead.
Personally, I'm not convinced the historical record should be altered to favor the "genius" over the "tinkerer". I suppose my being more the latter than the former might have something to do with it.
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