First home computer terminal - 1967.

[Bricktop]

[Odinson]

The father casually smokes inside the house... I bet it didnt raise any eyebrows in 1967.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

[Bricktop]

Yes...but hindsight suggests that gravity, rather than the actual engine, gave the wings lift so it could travel for about 20 seconds before hitting the ground. Experts now believe the aircraft was never under power whilst in the air.

[Anonymous]

Yes...but hindsight suggests that gravity, rather than the actual engine, gave the wings lift so it could travel for about 20 seconds before hitting the ground. Experts now believe the aircraft was never under power whilst in the air.

[Bricktop]

"Modern analysis by Professor Fred E. C. Culick and Henry R. Jex (in 1985) has demonstrated that the 1903 Wright Flyer was so unstable as to be almost unmanageable by anyone but the Wrights, who had trained themselves in the 1902 glider.[83] In a recreation attempt on the event's 100th anniversary on December 17, 2003, Kevin Kochersberger, piloting an exact replica, failed in his effort to match the success that the Wright brothers had achieved with their piloting skill.[84]"



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers">//https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers



2 years later...



"At Huffman Prairie, lighter winds made takeoffs harder, and they had to use a longer starting rail than the 60-foot (18 m) rail used at Kitty Hawk. The first flights in 1904 revealed problems with longitudinal stability, solved by adding ballast and lengthening the supports for the elevator.[87] During the spring and summer they suffered many hard landings, often damaging the aircraft and causing minor injuries."



As always, American boasts must be taken with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

"Modern analysis by Professor Fred E. C. Culick and Henry R. Jex (in 1985) has demonstrated that the 1903 Wright Flyer was so unstable as to be almost unmanageable by anyone but the Wrights, who had trained themselves in the 1902 glider.[83] In a recreation attempt on the event's 100th anniversary on December 17, 2003, Kevin Kochersberger, piloting an exact replica, failed in his effort to match the success that the Wright brothers had achieved with their piloting skill.[84]"



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers">//https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers



2 years later...



"At Huffman Prairie, lighter winds made takeoffs harder, and they had to use a longer starting rail than the 60-foot (18 m) rail used at Kitty Hawk. The first flights in 1904 revealed problems with longitudinal stability, solved by adding ballast and lengthening the supports for the elevator.[87] During the spring and summer they suffered many hard landings, often damaging the aircraft and causing minor injuries."



As always, American boasts must be taken with a grain of salt.

I haven't spent much time learning about the Wright brothers. I think I wlll though.

[Bricktop]

They were engineers, and as with many things American, were building on the designs and concepts of European designers.



Whilst they are credited with the first powered flight, they were not the first to fly, as they are often mistakenly credited with.



History records Otto Lilienthal as the first person to put a man made, heavier than air machine in the air under controlled flying conditions. Unfortunately, engines of that era were simply not capable of being fitted to his aircraft.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Lilienthal">//https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Lilienthal



The Wright brothers copied his design concepts, but were able to add a small engine that gave their craft forward propulsion, opening the door for the evolution of mechanically powered aircraft.



Wright's aircraft was never capable of controlled powered flight for any serious duration due to many design flaws...but they did confirm the mechanical theories that had been around for a century.



Europeans regard the first real, controlled flight as being conducted by Voisin.  "In March 1907 Gabriel Voisin flew the first example of his Voisin biplane. On 13 January 1908 a second example of the type was flown by Henri Farman to win the Deutsch-Archdeacon Grand Prix d'Aviation prize for a flight in which the aircraft flew a distance of more than a kilometer and landed at the point where it had taken off. The flight lasted 1 minute and 28 seconds.[72]".



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aviation">//https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aviation



Whilst the Wright Bros contribution to the development of flying machinery was important, the concept was not theirs, and many European designers were developing aircraft. However, once ALL the concepts and innovations were collated into a single design, it was up, up and away for humanity.