Larry said,
> "I was disappointed to again find the KR a forgotten fact of history" ***************** I've done the same thing several times myself Larry. Every time I come across a "Tribute to Rutan" for being such a pioneer in wood/foam/glass construction I respond with the actual dates and times of Ken's debut at Oshkosh, fully three years before Rutan showed up with his glass wonders. I'm of course a great admirer of the Rutans and all they've done, including Joanna Yeager as regards the unrefueled round-the-world trip but as for pioneering the form of construction that became widespread following Ken Rand's lead it's just damn unfair that Ken isn't getting his due except among us, the cognesenti. Had he not killed himself the stories about Rutan would not be nearly as widespread nor accepted. It's another case of history being written by those who hang on their coattails of the survivors. So many of these "aviation writers" weren't even born when Ken was creating the new paradigm in aircraft construction, but if that was a valid excuse then little history would be written. It's more a case of insufficient research rather than when they were born. These clowns drink some kool-aid and write an article full of misinformation, not bothering to actually talk to anyone from that era nor reference the many publications which featured Ken's work at the time. He created a sensation and somehow these hacks are able to completely miss or ignore it as they write their Rutan boilerplate. It's a good example of just how shaky is our genereral grasp on what we think we know as "truth". You'd think aviation-minded people would pay more attention to accuracy . . . but there's hacks everywhere, especially in the world of print. As lead type or photographic plates have been replaced by inexpensive electrons, journalism has followed a downward path . . . certainly in this case. Thanks for doing what you can to keep the record straight. I will continue to do the same. Mike Stirewalt KSEE _______________________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to [email protected]
