The understanding of "first flight" was defined as a heavier-than-air craft, carrying a person, able to take off under its own power and fly a distance that satisfies most skeptics of the day. The feeling was that a flight, starting from level ground and lasting 200+ feet and a few seconds would suffice. Another key to the "first flight" was the ability to control the aircraft during flight.
The Wright brothers did a great job of engineering their 1903 Wright Flyer. They took methodical approach to the design and building of their aircraft. They questioned and determined that the coefficient of lift (being used for ~100+ years) was wrong (it should be ~0.33 instead of the accepted 0.5). The Wright brothers definately should be credited with the advancement of powered flight and with the first documented powered flight on Dec. 17, 1903.
The Wrights made their first flights powered from level ground but into the strong winds of Kitty Hawk and barely demonstrated controlability with the Wright Flyer (they did demonstrate more controlability with their gliders). The winds gave them quite an advantage. The Wrights didn't fly again until summer 1905. By then their new aircraft required a catapult to get airborne because they did not have a powerful enough engine---hardly meeting the requirement of getting airborne under its own power. This along with their absense from public demonstrations cast a lot of doubt into the Wrights claim and definately delayed the further advancement of aviation (not to mention their greed for a over generalized patent).
The first US PUBLIC flight was done by Glenn Curtiss on July 4, 1908. This (a flight over 1 Km in length) won him the first leg of the Scientific American trophey (even though the organizers held out for the Wrights to demonstrate their aircraft in public. Curtiss's plane also incorporated tricycle landing gear and did take off under its own power (it did not require the catapult like the 1905 Wright Flyer).
The Wrights were just another group in a long line that led to powered flight and definately deserve credit for taking a systematic approach and demonstrating limited powered flight. Credit to successful powered flight needs not to rest solely on them (as much as the general public believes) but on all the players to include: Chanute, Lilienthal, Curtiss, numerous Europeans, and possibly even Mad Pearce
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unfortuately their later machine required a catapult to get it up to speed for take-off because they didn't have a powerful enough engine
The understanding of "first flight" was defined as a heavier-than-air craft, carrying a person, able to take off under its own power and fly a distance that satisfies most skeptics of the day. The feeling was that a flight, starting from level ground and lasting 200+ feet and a few seconds would suffice. Another key to the "first flight" was the ability to control the aircraft during flight. The Wright brothers did a great job of engineering their 1903 Wright Flyer. They took methodical approach to the design and building of their aircraft. They questioned and determined that the coefficient of lift (being used for ~100+ years) was wrong (it should be ~0.33 instead of the accepted 0.5). The Wright brothers definately should be credited with the advancement of powered flight and with the first documented powered flight on Dec. 17, 1903. The Wrights made their first flights powered from level ground but into the strong winds of Kitty Hawk and barely demonstrated controlability with the Wright Flyer (they did demonstrate more controlability with their gliders). The winds gave them quite an advantage. The Wrights didn't fly again until summer 1905. By then their new aircraft required a catapult to get airborne because they did not have a powerful enough engine---hardly meeting the requirement of getting airborne under its own power. This along with their absense from public demonstrations cast a lot of doubt into the Wrights claim and definately delayed the further advancement of aviation (not to mention their greed for a over generalized patent). The first US PUBLIC flight was done by Glenn Curtiss on July 4, 1908. This (a flight over 1 Km in length) won him the first leg of the Scientific American trophey (even though the organizers held out for the Wrights to demonstrate their aircraft in public. Curtiss's plane also incorporated tricycle landing gear and did take off under its own power (it did not require the catapult like the 1905 Wright Flyer). The Wrights were just another group in a long line that led to powered flight and definately deserve credit for taking a systematic approach and demonstrating limited powered flight. Credit to successful powered flight needs not to rest solely on them (as much as the general public believes) but on all the players to include: Chanute, Lilienthal, Curtiss, numerous Europeans, and possibly even Mad Pearce