On 05/02/2008, A. T. Murray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > After they achieved "true airplane functionality," > apparently at least one newspaper -- perhaps > The Loosemore Gazette -- published an article > expressing disbelief in the preposterous claim > by the Wright brothers that they had achieved > flight. I am only claiming thought.
What the Wright brothers really achieved was firstly a proper understanding of the principles of flight - what it was that made an aircraft stay up - and secondly a practical method of *controlling* an aircraft in flight, via the wing warping method which they patented. People had been able to fly prior to the Wright brothers in Heath Robinson devices similar to hang gliders, but they weren't able to control their flight very well, making the whole exercise rather haphazard. If flying machines were going to be at all useful they needed a reliable method by which the pilot could control them. I think right up until the 1920s military generals scoffed at the idea of flying machines playing any major role in warfare (they couldn't carry anything very heavy, like bombs), and the kind of air travel that we have today must have seemed like a wild fantasy. There were a few visionaries who dreamed of luxurious air travel, with bars and jazz orchestras. We still havn't quite got that yet. ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=93808503-d82865
