Flight before wrights?

[Floatsflyer]

......and a major recall of every single North Carolina license plate so the slogan can be erased, changed and returned. Sign on the Connecticut turnpike, "Welcome to Connecticut, First in Flight...Really"

[Floatsflyer]

The North Carolina governor's office is stunned by the recent Jane's acknowledgement but has relunctantly agreed to make the necessary changes to all symbols and monuments within the state referring to the Wrights and first in flight slogans. To begin, they are holding a public contest to choose the new license plate slogan. They advise that it must be aviation oriented and must be able to fit on a plate.


Let's all chip in here with ideas to help out and send to NC. My picks: "We're Number 2"; Jane's Screwed Us"

[WeaverJ3Cub]

The North Carolina governor's office is stunned by the recent Jane's acknowledgement but has relunctantly agreed to make the necessary changes to all symbols and monuments within the state referring to the Wrights and first in flight slogans. To begin, they are holding a public contest to choose the new license plate slogan. They advise that it must be aviation oriented and must be able to fit on a plate.

You're not serious are you?

I took a brief look through the Whitehead site, and when I came across references to Wilbur having supposedly left aviation to become a fire-breathing fundamentalist preacher and then saw the questionable "science" done on a low-res picture in another picture of the wall of a museum, I stopped reading.


On another note, Jane's decision surprises me, but at the same time I'm reluctant to just believe all of Tom Crouch's responses, as he has something of a vested interest in the Wrights.

[Bill Greenwood]

I didn't see the reference to Wilbur Wright leaving aviation to become a fundamentalist preacher. But if that is what is written, it is almost certainly nonsense for at least two reasons. Although they were a religious family, with their Bishop Father, I have never read anything of either of the brothers doing any preaching.

The other reason is that Wilbur died of an illness in 1912, so he didn't do anything after that, religion or aviation.
Orville lived to age 76 in 1948.

So if this part of the Whitehead site is wrong, the rest of it may be suspect also.

[Floatsflyer]

You're not serious are you?

Yes, I'm not serious. In thinking about all the possible ramifications of Jane's decision, just wanting to have some fun with it. Join in.

[rwanttaja]

Yes, I'm not serious. In thinking about all the possible ramifications of Jane's decision, just wanting to have some fun with it. Join in.

Ummmm.....ummmm.... we're all gonna get stickers of Gustav Whitehead to paste over the Wrights on our pilot licenses? :-)

Ron Wanttaja

[58boner]

Actually the Wrights first claim to a "Flight" might be stretching it a bit, certainly not a flight by our standards today. But they stuck with it. Even through failures, fatalities, and lack of sales they finally got something they could reliably fly. Found some people willing to pay money for it, and made a life of promoting it.
For these accomplishments they deserve the title "First in Flight". Remember, first doesn't have to mean first to do it!

[Bill Greenwood]

The first flight on Dec. 17, 1903 wasn't much, only 120 feet or 40 yards. You can punt or maybe even throw a football that far. But there were 4 total made and the last one was 852 feet, about a minute long and almost 3 football fields. That was certainly flying.

There were 5 witnesses there and good photograph of it. The young man told others. "They did it, damned if they ain't flew, and the Bros sent a wire to their Father, "success".
More proof of what they had was the many glider flights they made there the year before that showed the had some control over the plane, thought still nowhere like they had in a few more years.

And when you say, "not by our standards today", would you say there were no German rockets or Goddard ones, because after all they didn't go to the moon, or to orbit?

Would you say the 1750 Model A s that Ford built in !903-4 were not really cars since they aren't up to what we have now?

[Floatsflyer]

Remember, first doesn't have to mean first to do it!

Whoooooa! WTF does that mean??? You must be a card carrying subscriber to the Bill Clinton definition of sexual relations.

[WeaverJ3Cub]

Yes, I'm not serious. In thinking about all the possible ramifications of Jane's decision, just wanting to have some fun with it. Join in.

Ah, I see. Pretty funny.