The Wright bros..........

Thinking about this, Oe has to wonder if the wright brothers only flew "in ground effect". Most people think Howard Hughs flew his "Spuce Goose" the largest plane built in Ground effect only.

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Originally Posted by JohnF

Thinking about this, Oe has to wonder if the wright brothers only flew "in ground effect". Most people think Howard Hughs flew his "Spuce Goose" the largest plane built in Ground effect only.

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this is correct, aircraft took about another 10 yrs to actually leave the ground under their own steam.

Your probably right about the spruce goose too although I had never thought about it.

This is worth a read:

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers]Wright brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Although the wright brothers likely weren't the first, they produced the first successful prototype with the 3-axis control principle which is still used today - and unlike many other groups at the time working toward the same goal, they were entirely self funded.

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

This is worth a read:

Wright brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Although the wright brothers likely weren't the first, they produced the first successful prototype with the 3-axis control principle which is still used today - and unlike many other groups at the time working toward the same goal, they were entirely self funded.

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this article makes the wrights look even worse than I suggested.

"The Curtiss people derisively suggested that if someone jumped in the air and waved his arms, the Wrights would sue."

"The Wrights' preoccupation with the legal issue stifled their work on new designs, and by 1911 Wright aircraft were considered inferior to those of European makers. Indeed, aviation development in the U.S. was suppressed to such an extent that when the U.S. entered World War I no acceptable American-designed aircraft were available, and U.S. forces were compelled to use French machines. Orville and Katharine Wright believed Curtiss was partly responsible for Wilbur's premature death, which occurred in the wake of his exhausting travels and the stress of the legal battle."

"The lawsuits damaged the public image of the Wright brothers, who were generally regarded before this as heroes. Critics said the brothers were greedy and unfair and compared their actions unfavorably to European inventors, who worked more openly."

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Originally Posted by F4Phantom

this article makes the wrights look even worse than I suggested.

"The Curtiss people derisively suggested that if someone jumped in the air and waved his arms, the Wrights would sue."

"The Wrights' preoccupation with the legal issue stifled their work on new designs, and by 1911 Wright aircraft were considered inferior to those of European makers. Indeed, aviation development in the U.S. was suppressed to such an extent that when the U.S. entered World War I no acceptable American-designed aircraft were available, and U.S. forces were compelled to use French machines. Orville and Katharine Wright believed Curtiss was partly responsible for Wilbur's premature death, which occurred in the wake of his exhausting travels and the stress of the legal battle."

"The lawsuits damaged the public image of the Wright brothers, who were generally regarded before this as heroes. Critics said the brothers were greedy and unfair and compared their actions unfavorably to European inventors, who worked more openly."

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Regardless - my point was that you were incorrect in stating that they "patented flight" or words to that effect.

They certainly seemed to have gone a bit crazy in defending their patents, however, unlike many others, they were completely self funded.

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

Regardless - my point was that you were incorrect in stating that they "patented flight" or words to that effect.

They certainly seemed to have gone a bit crazy in defending their patents, however, unlike many others, they were completely self funded.

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Yeah ok, I was going off what 3toes said about that, but I should have read it first. Either way I leared some things about these guys today which has lowered my opinion. In the end their system failed their community.

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Originally Posted by F4Phantom

In the end their system failed their community.

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??? Wtf???

I agree that in the end their pursuit of patent infringers instead of developing better planes certainly cost them - friends and money...

However the fact remains that they plain they developed and demonstrated in 1908 was technically far superior to anything else at the time.

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Facing deep skepticism in the French aeronautical community and outright scorn by some newspapers that called him a "bluffeur", Wilbur began official public demonstrations on August 8, 1908 at the Hunaudières horse racing track near the town of Le Mans, France. His first flight lasted only one minute 45 seconds, but his ability to effortlessly make banking turns and fly a circle amazed and stunned onlookers, including several pioneer French aviators, among them Louis Bleriot. In the following days Wilbur made a series of technically challenging flights including figure-eights, demonstrating his skills as a pilot and the capability of his flying machine, which far surpassed those of all other pilot pioneers.

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

??? Wtf???

I agree that in the end their pursuit of patent infringers instead of developing better planes certainly cost them - friends and money...

However the fact remains that they plain they developed and demonstrated in 1908 was technically far superior to anything else at the time.

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OK I dont think you know what I ment.

I was refering to the idea that on one level, the amercian ideal failed the country. The the US didnt have a suitable aircraft for the onset of WW1 becasue the system of laws, and how things ought to be done stifled the countries progress, who should have at that time been world leaders in the field.

The communinty or country were failed by their system of doing things. If we say that France were behind in technology early on, were then able to sell aircraft to the US because they had advanced past the US, then the USA way of doing things was less effective.

But this is an endless debate of itself and one I dont know much about so I will say it was more a passing observation.

Considering the Chinese were the ones that invented gunpowder and cars were invented in Germany, I'd say the sepos way of doing things was less effective, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the French invented flying.

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Originally Posted by F4Phantom

OK I dont think you know what I ment.

I was refering to the idea that on one level, the amercian ideal failed the country. The the US didnt have a suitable aircraft for the onset of WW1 becasue the system of laws, and how things ought to be done stifled the countries progress, who should have at that time been world leaders in the field.

The communinty or country were failed by their system of doing things. If we say that France were behind in technology early on, were then able to sell aircraft to the US because they had advanced past the US, then the USA way of doing things was less effective.

But this is an endless debate of itself and one I dont know much about so I will say it was more a passing observation.

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I think you are more talking about patents than the American ideal. It is a widely held belief that patents stifle technological development. This seems to be a case in point. If the Wright Bros has put all the effort they put into lodging and defending their patents into developing planes, they could likely have stayed ahead of the competition.