On this day in 1903 in the dunes of Kitty Hawk, NC, the surly bonds of Earth were, if not slipped, then at least significantly loosened when Orville & Wilbur Wright made four flights with their Wright Flyer.
The first of the day was of 12 seconds duration. It is interesting to note that the Flyer, with its 40-foot wingspan, is only prevented by its width from being able to duplicate the 120-foot first flight, which never exceeded ten feet in altitude, in the cargo bay of a C-5B Galaxy, which first flew only 20 years after Orville's death.
7 comments:
... setting off a PR war between Ohio and North Carolina that still rages.
Well, I thought that they'd settled it with "First in Flight" vs. "Birthplace of Aviation".
(Check out the license-plates issued by NC and OH, next time you get a chance to see them. NC has the first phrase, OH has the other.)
After all, the brothers were Buckeyes, even if they had to go to Kitty Hawk, NC, to get off the ground.
"Frankly, none of us believed it."--James Cox, governor (D-Ohio), presidential candidate, founder of Cox Cable.
In the summer of 1904, Wilbur went out to Huffman Prairie and taught himself to fly. Now you think about that: no instructor, no manual, no simulator (no ATC! no FAA! no hangar fees! Hell, no ailerons!). In that year, the sky was his. It is a wondrous thing to fly like a fighter pilot, like an acrobat, like an astronaut. But in 1904, WW was flying...like a god.
Yet other than his sister (by all accounts a brilliant and iron-willed person), chicks did not dig it. Only in Ohio.
comatus - I was waiting to see how long it would take you. ;)
Anonymous said...
"... setting off a PR war between Ohio and North Carolina that still rages."
Don't forget about Connecticut! Around here everyone knows Gustave Whitehead beat the Wright brothers by 2 yrs. The WBs even rented an office here and visited Gustave's shop before making their own successful flight.
During the early days of aviation, weren't all these planes mostly "ground effect aircraft"?
Had this one on my mind today being into the whole aviation history thing. Also got to see lots of "First in Flight" license plates and many pictures of the Wright Flyer on licenses and IDs at the shop. But then, I'm in North Carolina so I get that everyday.
Anyone notice the US quarter with NC on the back has "First Flight" and not "First in Flight" printed on it?
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