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  • From: ids AT idisplay.com
  • To: internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] the history books
  • Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 11:20:33 -0400

Michael:
>I can't believe the citizens of NC have the gall to believe NC has anything but a tiny claim of involvement with the Wright
>Brothers, who never were citizens of the state.

No question there's some truth here. But here's a quote I came across. I'm not saying it makes Kitty Hawk Nirvana or something, but I was taken with the sentiment. The quote's from the 1900 letter from Bill Tate, Currituck County commissioner to Wilbur Wright. Tate was replying to the inquiry Wilbur sent to the U.S. Weather Bureau near office ear Kitty Hawk, about weather conditions at Kitty Hawk.

"If you decide to try your machine here & come, I will take pleasure in doing all I can for your convenience & success & pleasure, & I assure you you will find a hospitable people when you come among us.

I don't want to make any Kitty Hawk vs Dayton defense. I really don't.
I just imagine reacting to a letter from a stranger. I think there's still Tate family in the KH area.
Ed W.


At 11:14 PM 4/26/03 -0400, you wrote:

On Friday, April 25, 2003, at 07:26 PM, machett AT ibiblio.org wrote:

" I mean, the Wright Bros. weren't the first to fly a powered aircraft"

That depends on how you define "fly". From the links given:

"According to his son Fred's eyewitness account, the first flight was a
bit of a disaster. The aircraft rose sharply from the end of the wire,
stalled, and dropped back on its tail, which broke. But a later flight
was a spectacular success; the plane flew for more than 10 yards before
punching a hole in the canvas screen at the end of the mill."

"Wild and inaccurate statements have been publicised from time to time
concerning Richard Pearse's achievements in the field of aviation.
However, no responsible researcher has ever claimed that he achieved
fully controlled flight before the Wright brothers, or indeed at any
time."

I really need to get the domain "firstinflightsucks.com" or something
similar, as I can't believe the citizens of NC have the gall to believe
NC has anything but a tiny claim of involvement with the Wright
Brothers, who never were citizens of the state. The brothers conceived,
designed, built, and tested their planes in Dayton, OH, and were only
in NC for a total of few months of test flights where they practiced
flying. The only thing this says about NC is it has wind and sand on
the coast. They were never citizens of NC and lived their entire lives
in Dayton.*

While others created similarly looking crude planes, and may have
managed to get them off the ground for short periods of time, the
Wrights were the only ones who could back up their designs with math
and science, creating theories based on research, and then comparing
the predictions with real-life measurements. It was this understanding
that allowed them to further refine their designs into practical
working vehicles, being the first to develop a practical flight vehicle.

Scientific Achievements:
http://www.first-to-fly.com/Adventure/Workshop/lift_and_drift.htm

Timelines:
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/wright/chrono.asp
http://centennialofflight.gov/timeline/search_timeline_result.cfm

First in Flight: Ohio or NC?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0310/p02s01-usgn.html

* Wilbur was born in Indiana and moved to Ohio at age 3. Orville was
born in Ohio.

________________________________________________________________________ _________
Run, run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the stinky
cheese man!
-- michael at czeiszperger dot org, Chapel Hill, NC

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