Re-making aviation history?
03-16-2013, 03:27 PM
#12
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Joined APC: Jan 2013
Posts: 834
I like many others have long suspected this. It is interesting to hear of these revelations. This could be a game changer; especially if someone pressed it. I recently became aware that there is talk of placing Charles Taylor's Pic on the back of the A&P certificate. If all this is true I think some changes are in order. For example; maybe as an incentive to raise the quality of flight instruction, the "flight instructor of the year" could have their Pic on the back of the CFI Cert; same with A&P/AMT of the year.
Last edited by Yoda2; 03-16-2013 at 03:28 PM. Reason: typo
03-16-2013, 03:41 PM
#13
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The Emporer has no clothes
I found this section on John Brown's website both fascinating and disappointing:
As a kid, I idolized the Wright brothers, thinking them two simple and humble Americans who created the flying machine as an aside to their bicycle-building.
No, I'm not so sure. Seems the Wrights were a lot more business-savvy than I had been led to believe.
I agree: one could spend hours on Brown's site. Lots of interesting info.
In 1909, all winged, heavier-than-air aircraft in America were grounded by injunctions obtained by the Wright brothers to protect their patent. If an aviator wanted to continue flying his own aeroplane, he was required to buy a Wright License which cost more than $25,000. The only other legal option was to buy the Wrights' canard-biplane-pusherprop invention which most were unwilling to do – especially Glenn Curtiss. (Curtiss ended up ultimately taking over the Wright Aircraft company when it failed and modernizing its aircraft designs.)
As a kid, I idolized the Wright brothers, thinking them two simple and humble Americans who created the flying machine as an aside to their bicycle-building.
No, I'm not so sure. Seems the Wrights were a lot more business-savvy than I had been led to believe.
I agree: one could spend hours on Brown's site. Lots of interesting info.
03-16-2013, 06:00 PM
#14
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In my studies of history it is always the case that many people are concentrated in an overall direction of science at any one time. It is rarely if ever the case that someone is a lone ranger in a given field operating in solitude. It usually comes down to splitting hairs as to who made the crucial discovery first, and even if someone occasionally operates a bit out front, they still must ride along recent advances in the field or else they would not be successful. As human beings we love say oh, it was this hero would did it all, but history shows that science tends to advance along fairly wide fronts.
03-16-2013, 07:53 PM
#15
Runs with scissors
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And then there was Thomas Edison. Big buddies with Henry Ford, they had winter homes right down the street from each other in Ft. Myers. I'm not sure who was pushing who to invent stuff in that one, but they were both pretty good at it!
http://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org/
http://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org/
03-16-2013, 08:22 PM
#16
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Posts: 834
And then there was Thomas Edison. Big buddies with Henry Ford, they had winter homes right down the street from each other in Ft. Myers. I'm not sure who was pushing who to invent stuff in that one, but they were both pretty good at it!
Fort Myers, Florida | Museum, Botanical Gardens, Research Laboratory | Tours, Events - Edison & Ford Winter Estates - (239) 334-7419
Fort Myers, Florida | Museum, Botanical Gardens, Research Laboratory | Tours, Events - Edison & Ford Winter Estates - (239) 334-7419
03-19-2013, 05:39 AM
#17
Rubber dogsh#t out of HKG
Joined APC: Jan 2008
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Why do you single out the Russians and the French? Also, why do you seem especially repulsed by the idea of the French making such an accomplishment?
03-19-2013, 08:32 AM
#18
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I am not partial the French at all, but they actually have a wonderful aviation culture going way back. For example they were big players in World Cup air races prior to WWII which paved the way for WWII fighter design. Randomly selecting other achievements, they still make the software that just about very aviation firm in the world (Boeing included) uses to design airplanes, Dassault's Catia software. From modern fighters to modern airliners the French do lots of great things in aviation- their part is huge.
03-21-2013, 11:15 AM
#19
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Position: FAA 'Flight Check'
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Smithsonian has weighed in with its own strong opinion.
Smithsonian Says Wright Brothers were the 'First in Flight' : science : Nature World News
Smithsonian Says Wright Brothers were the 'First in Flight' : science : Nature World News
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