On 5/21/2014 5:25 PM, LizR wrote:
On 22 May 2014 11:18, meekerdb <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:On 5/21/2014 3:44 PM, LizR wrote: Yes, I was indeed thinking of the superhero Bicycle Repair Man when I wrote that. However I'm not so keen on deifying the Wright brothers when they were just two in a long line of people in many countries who gradually developed powered flight. They did make a significant improvement, of course, but there were plenty of others who helped pave the way to modern aeroplanes (including one somewhat dubious claim from New Zealand) Interestingly in the context of this thread, one of the Wright brother's main contributions was their systematic (dare I say "scientific") approach using a wind tunnel to study air foils.Yes, and I believe that led them to invent a much improved control system. (They were very important in the history of flight. I only object to claims that they were the sole pioneers, when there were dozens of others who also contributed.)
Sure, Langley, Maxim, or Ader probably would have succeeded if they'd had as good an engine as the Wright brothers. One thing often overlooked about the Wright brothers is that they, with Charles Taylor, built their own engine which had a much better power-to-weight ratio than the steam engines others were experimenting with.
However I must admit the context of this thread is, for me at least, rather obscure in places!
I took it to be a discussion of Alberto's contention that technological advances don't need no stinkin' science. Which has a grain of truth. Science and technology tend to leap frog one another.
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