Yes, per Twelve Seconds to the Moon, by Rosamond Young, 1978, page 58- "The Dayton Daily News had nothing on December 18 but on the following day carried a small story on page one..."
Yes, per Dayton Ink- The First Century of the Dayton Daily News, published by the Dayton Daily News, 1998. Page VIII, "Taking Dayton for granted is a Dayton tradition, and nowhere was it more in evidence than when the Wright brothers opened the era of powered flight on Dec 17, 1903, when they flew an airplane of their own design and construction at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. Much of the nation's press gave the event short shrift, but the Wrights- Orville and Wilbur- were Dayton boys. This, beyond any doubt, was big local news. Unfortunately, the Dayton Daily News gave the event the shortest shrift possible, Nothing."
Page 70- "Truth stranger than fiction- so it wasn't covered. It was front-page news on Dec 19, 1903, that the Wright brothers were leaving Norfolk, Va., to spend Christmas with their parents. That the brothers had spent Dec 17 flying what they called the world's first aeroplane was mentioned only in passing. How did the News miss the scoop of the century, by its very own hometown boys?"
No, per The Bishop Boys- Tom Crouch, 1989, page 272 "Five newspapers responded. Two of them, the New York American and the Cincinnati Enquirer, carried it in their morning editions. Perhaps inspired by the account in the morning Enquirer, the afternoon papers in Dayton abbreviated the Norfolk piece. The Dayton News was a bit more imaginative, if no more accurate. The story, carried in a section reserved for neighborhood news, was headlined: Dayton Boys Emulate Great Santos-Dumont."
Actually, No, per many, many other sources.
Actually, No, per many, many other sources.
The correct answer is No, the Dayton Daily News did not fail to carry the story. True, the early edition on Dec 18th did not carry the story, but it was added to a later edition of the paper that same day. So, if a historian obtains a copy of the early edition of Dec 18th, the story does not appear on page 8. But if the historian obtains a later edition copy, the story does appears on page 8, and thus the confusion. As per Tom Crouch's comment that the News was a bit more imaginative, if no more accurate, that comment would apply to the headline, but not the article. The headline was misguided, as Santos-Dumont had no experience at that time, in heavier than air machines, but the actual story line was fairly accurate!
 |
| Dayton Daily News Dec 18th, 1903 page from Dayton Metro Library archives. Associated original print plate is from author's collection. |
The story read in part as follows: Kitty Hawk, N.C., Dec 17. "'We have made four successful flights this morning, all against a 21-mile wind. We started from the level, with engine power alone. Our average speed through the air was 31 miles. Our longest time in the air was 57 seconds.' Orville Wright.
The above telegram was received by Bishop Wright of this city last evening from his sons Wilbur and Orville Wright, who have been for several months at Kitty Hawk on the coast of North Carolina experimenting with a flying machine, announcing the complete success of their invention which they call the 'Wright Flyer'.
Thursday morning they made four successful flights against a wind of 21 miles an hour, starting from a level and going at the rate of 10 miles per hour, which would be equal to a rate of 31 miles per hour in a calm. No power was used in starting the flight except two aerial propellers driven by a powerful but light gasoline engine. The landings were all made easily and without injury to either the machine or operator. The Wright brothers have been carrying on experiments for the past six or seven years, and have built three previous machines for gliding by means of which they attained proficiency in the control of their apparatus. This year is the first time they have attempted to drive their machine by power. (Then details of the Wright Flyer are given, and then....)
The dispatch from Norfolk, Va., published in the morning dailies contains much that is inaccurate and was based on imperfect or unauthentic information. The credit for the success of the 'Wright Flyer' is totally due to both Wilbur and Orville as the invention has been the result of their joint labors."
The account above obviously shows signs of being obtained directly from the source- The Wright family. Under the headline, it states three successful trials were made, but this is corrected in the story when four successful trials are claimed. Some of the info is not accurate, such as no injury to the machine- there was some minor repair required between flights due to some cracked parts. And the experiments had not been carried on for six or seven years. Experiments began in 1899 beginning with the kite testing of wing warping. In lieu of missing the story, the Daily News had it mostly correct. At least when compared to the accounts carried in other papers. Page 1 would have been better....but there it is.
Copyright 2021-Getting the Story Wright
Added December 24, 2023-
Comments below have been offered by others, concerning Santos-Dumont's place in history as related to the claim of first flight. News accounts are presented with the claim that Santos-Dumont's flights of 1906 were first in history, discounting the 1903, 1904, and 1905 flights of the Wright Brothers. Misleading quote from the Wright Brothers "Our machine was designed to be flown as a kite..." is offered, even though this quote was referring to their earlier glider experiments, and not of their powered 1903 Wright Flyer. A 1906 article is quoted in which it was reported, "Their aeroplane would not lift itself clear of the rails until it had been pushed forward twenty-five or thirty feet by hand..."; this reporting is entirely in error. The Wright Flyer was not pushed by hand. When a hand was offered, it was simply an attempt to assist in balance.
A definition to true flight has been put forth in these comments below, with actual flight tied to the means of the launching mechanism. In summary, the use of a rail, and a "push" provided by a derrick with dropping weights disqualifies true flight. The use of wheels and a runway is necessary for true flight to occur.
Based on this definition, no Dirigible has ever flown, as it's launching mechanism is simply lighter than air gas, lifting the craft upwards before propellers then drive the machine forwards. Samuel Langley was never in the running, as he utilized a spring-actuated catapult on a floating platform. Seaplanes don't qualify, as they use pontoons in lieu of wheels when launching from water. Jets launched from a battleship are not truly flying as they use a track or slot on the flight deck and catapults. Helicopters with landing skids don't actually fly, as they don't make use of wheels and a runway system in order to take to the air. Space flight really hasn't occurred at all, as all launches have utilized rockets to place the vehicles in the air, making use of launching pads.
What ever floats your boat I guess (as long as the boat has wheels).
In fact, Santos Dumont invented the first "avion" that can fly alone, unlike Wright's air plane, as the name suggests (plane came from latin, glide), needed a push. So if put a thing whit wings on the air means fly, Wrights werent the firts.
ReplyDeleteFelipi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I like the way Orville described the December 17, 1903 flight one of four for that day, "the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in free flight, had sailed forward on a level course without reduction of speed, and had finally landed without being wrecked." The Wright's also solved the control issue, and through 1904 and 1905 made 160 flights at Huffman Prairie in Dayton Ohio. By September/October of 1905, they made flights of 11.125 miles, 12 miles, 15.25 miles, 20.75 miles, and 24.2 miles. Santos Dumont made his less than 50' hop in the 14-Bis on September 13, 1906. Then on October 27, he flew 197 feet. On November 12, he flew 722 feet (220 meters). And that was his best flight in this machine.
You mention Wright's plane "needed a push". I assume you are referring to the derrick and weights they used for ease of take-off. This system was not used in 1903, and the aeroplane was not pushed. Numerous flights at Huffman Prairie in 1904 and 1905 were performed without the derrick.
FanBoy ๐
Delete"Santos Dumont made his less than 50' hop in the 14-Bis on September 13, 1906. Then on October 27, he flew 197 feet. On November 12, he flew 722 feet (220 meters). And that was his best flight in this machine."
Newspaper ๐
The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7
KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD
Concluded from page 2.
Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.
Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2
Mower County transcript. [volume], January 09, 1907, Image 5
Dumont and Peary Take Scientific Honors
After centuries of dreaming and experimentation it was the privilege of the year 1906 to see man's first mechanical navigation of the air from a standing start in a screw propelled aeroplane. This was accomplished by M. Santos-Dumont at Paris, SEPT. 13 and in a later flight he won the $10,000 prize by flying over a kilometer from a standing start.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85025431/1907-01-09/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1770&index=0&rows=20&words=1906+After+centuries+dreaming+ex+perimentation+privilege+year&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=After+centuries+of+dreaming+and+ex%C2%ADperimentation+it+was+the+privilege+of+the+year+1906&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
Danville Intelligencer. [volume], January 04, 1907, Image 1
It remained for the world of 1906 to see the first mechanical navigation of the air from a standing start in a screw-propelled aeroplane. This was achieved by M. Santos-Dumont, at Paris, September 13. in his airship, the Bird of Prey.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053369/1907-01-04/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=+aeroplanes+of+Santos+Dumont&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=7
FanBoy ๐
Delete"Santos Dumont made his less than 50' hop in the 14-Bis on September 13, 1906. Then on October 27, he flew 197 feet. On November 12, he flew 722 feet (220 meters). And that was his best flight in this machine."
Newspaper ๐
Nature – November 8, 1906, Page 35
The First “Manned” Flying Machine.
OCTOBER 23 of the present year will be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of flying machines, for it was on that day that the first flying machine, constructed on the “heavier than air” principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards.
In this his first successful flight with this machine. M. Santos Dumont is to be sincerely congratulated, for he has accomplished a performance which many workers in different parts of the world have been striving after for many years past and failed.
https://www.nature.com/articles/075035a0#:~:text=OCTOBER%2023%20of%20the%20present,itself%20by%20means%20of%20its
FanBoy ๐
Delete"You mention Wright's plane "needed a push". I assume you are referring to the derrick and weights they used for ease of take-off. This system was not used in 1903, and the aeroplane was not pushed. Numerous flights at Huffman Prairie in 1904 and 1905 were performed without the derrick."
Newspaper ๐
New-York Tribune. [volume], November 20, 1906, Page 6, Image 6
SANTOS-DUMONT ANTICIPATED.
A fresh reason for determining the amount of glory due to Santos-Dumont for his recent flights with an aeroplane is afforded by an article in the latest number of "Nature" to reach this country. In that periodical it is asserted that on October 23 "the first flying machine, constructed on the 'heavier than air' principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards." While that statement is probably correct, the merit of the performance can be rightly estimated only by a comparison with what Wilbur and Orville Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, have been able to accomplish.
Santos-Dumont has been at work on the aeroplane only about a year. Most of his aeronautic experiments were conducted with an entirely different class of airship, the self-propelled balloon. On the other hand, the Wright brothers have been identified with the aeroplane for at least four or five years and perhaps longer. In a letter to the Aero Club of America, last winter they told the results attained by them up to the close of 1905. So startling were their claims that in France and Germany their story was received with much skepticism. With a creditable desire to vindicate the honor of the country, ''The Scientific American" addressed a circular letter of inquiry to seventeen persons who, according to the Wrights, had witnessed their aerial voyages. Twelve responses were received, one of them coming from Mr. Octave Chanute, the author of a well known work on aeronautic experiments and a man whose veracity no well informed foreigner or American would venture to question. The testimony of each of these witnesses was in substantial agreement with that of the others. Though now and then doubt would be expressed as to the exact date of a flight, the distance covered or some other detail, the general tenor of the letters seemed to put the truthfulness of the Wrights' statement quite beyond dispute.
It is worthy of note, in the interests of justice, that the Brazilian has made better provision for launching an aeroplane than the Wrights did last year. His machine, when on the ground, is supported by wheels. When the Wrights were ready to start, theirs was arranged crosswise on a pair of rails. To overcome the friction between these and the lower part of the frame, it was necessary to rely on external aid. Their aeroplane would not lift itself clear of the rails until it had been pushed forward twenty-five or thirty feet by hand, whereas the one which has just created a sensation in Europe will advance without assistance as soon as the propellers begin to revolve and will rise shortly afterward unhelped. Strictly speaking, then, "Nature" is quite right when it says that Santos-Dumont's machine is the first to raise Itself by means of its own power.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1906-11-20/ed-1/seq-6/#date1=1770&index=18&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
FanBoy ๐ Revisionist and historical denialist! ๐
Delete"You mention Wright's plane "needed a push". I assume you are referring to the derrick and weights they used for ease of take-off. This system was not used in 1903, and the aeroplane was not pushed. Numerous flights at Huffman Prairie in 1904 and 1905 were performed without the derrick."
Bike brothers ๐
"Our machine was designed to be flown as a kite, with a man on board, in winds of from fifteen to twenty miles an hour. But, upon trial, it was found that much stronger winds were required to lift it."
https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss46706.05001574/?sp=3&st=image
Newspaper ๐
Evening Star. [volume], December 09, 1906, Sunday star, Page 5, Image 53
The Sunday Star, Washington, D. C., December 09, 1906—Part 4.
(Copyright, 1906, by John Elfreth Watkins.)
SANTOS-DUMONT is the first man to have performed aerial flight with a self-propelled machine heavier than the air which it displaced. He has solved a problem which has caused inventive geniuses to burn the midnight oil and toss restlessly upon their couches since centuries before the dawn of the Christian era. During three millenniums or more ambitious men have broken their hearts and their heads seeking the great goal which this fearless Brazilian has won within the past few weeks.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1906-12-09/ed-1/seq-53/#date1=1770&index=0&rows=20&words=aerial+air+displaced+DUMONT+first+flight+have+heavier+machine+man+performed+propelled+SANTOS+SANTOS-DUMONT+self+self-propelled+than+which&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=SANTOS-DUMONT+is+the+first+man+to+have+performed+aerial+flight+with+a+self-propelled+machine+heavier+than+the+air+which+it+displaced&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
The Democratic Advocate. [volume], January 11, 1907, Image 1
Address By President Armstrong.
William H. Armstrong, former president of the Maryland State Turnpike Association, delivered the following address at the meeting held in Hagerstown on December 29:
“In the near future, there may float in the ocean of air above us, simulachres of those winged monsters of the paleozoic age, that lived by the shores of nameless lakes and left their ‘footprints in the sands of time.' These griffins of the sky will be the aeroplanes of Santos Dumont, and may be the evolution ary successors of the horse, the automobile and the trolley. They will carry their freight, in cars less costly, against a material less resistant than earth or water and be operated at an expense less than the vehicles now used by man.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038292/1907-01-11/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplanes+Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=14&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=Dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=10
El Imparcial., San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 09, 1919, Page 3.
DeleteENGLISH SECTION
OPINIONS OF MY OWN
BY Claudio Capรณ.
ON AIR NAVIGATION
Air navigation, which is in its infancy, has progressed wonderfully since it first became a practical proposition. Of course, man must have thought of the convenience of being able to fly, since the very moment he perceived other animals going through space. But is is only within the present generation that real progress has been made in the science of aerial navigation, and at the rate it goes we should not be at all surprised if one of these days a trip to the Moon were seriously considered.
If we remember right, Santos Dumont was the first man to flew in a heavier-than-air machine. The Wright Brothers are spoken of in the United States as the first inventors to make of the art a practical proposition. Of the lighter-than-air devices, the most famous are those constructed by Count Zeppelin.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88073003/1919-05-09/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Dumont+first+Santos&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=13&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=Santos+Dumont+first&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2
๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, 1969 = Apollo 11 = Moon ๐ฑ๐ฝ
Santos-Dumont (crater)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos-Dumont_(crater)
Santos-Dumont (propeller)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Santos-Dumont_(propeller)
END! FANBOY!
Very interesting, Matt! It is true that the Wrights made some flights withiut the catapults, however they still needed the rail on the ground because their plane didn't have wheels.
ReplyDeleteYes, the soft sand at Kitty Hawk was best suited for skids, and the rough uneven ground at Huffman Prairie was also best suited for skids. Wheels could have been added at any time, but were not initially preferred by the Wrights. Wheels were eventually added in 1910. Thanks for commenting Fernando.
ReplyDelete