An old-style single-engine airplane was flown at the opening ceremony of the Olympics held in Rio, Brazil, in 2016, and Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont was remembered as the inventor of the airplane. How? Didn’t the American Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, the so-called Wright Brothers, invent the airplane? If you ask who invented the airplane today, Americans will give a different answer, European and Latin Americans will give a different answer.
It’s a bit more complicated than the Edison – Tesla thing because it’s the definition of the airplane that’s being discussed at this point. Some experts say that the Wright Brothers did not produce a flying vehicle on their own, but Santos-Dumont made the first non-supported aircraft. By the way, there is also the name Gustave Whitehead, which makes a mess. Let’s try to answer the question of who invented the airplane.
Wright Brothers plane:
Orville Wright, known as the Wright Brothers, were aviator brothers who lived between 1878 and 1948, and Wilbur Wright between 1867 and 1912. The plane, built by the Wright Brothers, took off for the first time on December 17, 1903, at 10:35 am, near the town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States.
The Wright Brothers’ plane hovered in the air for 12 seconds on the first try and covered a distance of 37 meters. The Wright Brothers are considered to be the inventors of the first powered airplane, as this two-propeller airplane remained in the air even for a short time. However, not everyone accepted this situation because this flight was always seen as a bit suspicious.
Alberto Santos-Dumont’s plane:
Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont, who lived between 1873 and 1932, devoted himself to aviation and spent most of his life in Paris, the capital of France. Before airplanes were around, Santos-Dumont began exploring the skies by inventing hot air balloons and early zeppelins.
When the calendars showed the date October 23, 1906, he flew the first powered airplane, named 14-bis, approved by the Aro Club de France and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 14-bis took off about 5 meters from the ground and covered a distance of about 60 meters. It was even awarded the Deutsch-Archdeacon Award, being considered the first aircraft to fly longer than 25 meters.
Where does the discussion begin?
As you can see, the Wright Brothers flew years ahead of Santos-Dumont, and they even had a lot of air left. Well what’s the problem? The problem is that no one saw the Wright Brothers’ first attempt. Santos-Dumont, on the other hand, made this experiment publicly and announced to everyone that he was the inventor of the airplane.
Brazilian physicist Henrique Lins de Barros says that the plane built by the Wright Brothers did not fly, only a long-distance jump. According to Brazilian experts, the Wright Brothers’ plane took off with the help of a rail, catapult or incline. They say that it is not possible to talk about a flying machine on its own.
The plane, built by Santos-Dumont, took off on its own, hovered for the scheduled time, and landed in a controlled manner. The Wright Brothers plane somehow took off, glided, and somehow landed. Washington National Air and Space Museum Aviation Department Head Peter Jakab denies these claims and says that an airplane that stays in the air for close to a minute cannot achieve this success without its own power.
What about Gustave Whitehead?
Gustave Whitehead was a German-American who lived from 1874 to 1927. Throughout his life, Whitehead invented engines, gliders, and many other flying machines. He claimed to have flown in a single-engine airplane many years before the Wright Brothers.
These claims of Gustave Whitehead were only taken seriously and investigated in 1935. Since then, dozens of different studies and researches have been made on the subject and it has been published in a book. Finally, on October 24, 2013, with the joint statement of 38 weather historians, Gustave Whitehead’s claims were denied.
Who invented the airplane and when?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to say with certainty who invented the airplane and when. Because inventions are like that. In the same period, people in different parts of the world think similar things and come up with some products. As a result, no one can easily say that this is my invention. Official records write the Wright Brothers.
What makes matters even more interesting is that the Wright Brothers were not the first to hold a pilot’s license. The first official flight to the United States was made by Canadian Glenn H. Curtis on June 4, 1908, with an airplane called the June Bug, which took off without any outside assistance. Glenn H. Curtis holds pilot licenses 1, while the Wright Brothers hold pilot licenses 4 and 5.
To approach the subject objectively, the work of Gustave Whitehead inspired the Wright Brothers and Alberto Santos-Dumont built a successful prototype, enabling Glenn H. Curtis to make the first official flight. What remains for us is to pay homage to these enlightened minds.
We answered the questions of who invented the airplane, which is today’s indispensable means of transportation, and when, and talked about some important names that made its mark in aviation history. Who do you think invented the airplane? You can share your thoughts on the subject in the comments.
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