What is the Early History of Powered Flight?
Powered flight is a relatively recent pursuit, with the first controlled heavier-than-air powered flight occurring in Fairfield, Connecticut, by Gustave Whitehead, on 14 August 1901, predating the Wright Brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk by over two years. Whitehead’s engine-powered plane, with long, hawk-like glider wings, flew over 800 meters at an altitude of 15 meters, according to sworn affadavits signed by 15 attendees of the historic powered flight. Also according to witness reports, (but without sworn affadavits) Whitehead flew over 1 km (over half a mile) in Pittsburgh as early as 1899. This would place the first milestone of heavier-than-air powered flight in the 19th century rather than the 20th. Two modern replicas of Whitehead’s “Number 22” plane have flown successfully. The better-publicized efforts of the Wright Brothers culminated in the world- famous Kitty Hawk flights at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina on 17 December 1903. These flights are regarded by the Smithsonian
Powered flight is a relatively recent pursuit, with the first controlled heavier-than-air powered flight occurring in Fairfield, Connecticut, by Gustave Whitehead, on 14 August 1901, predating the Wright Brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk by over two years. Whitehead’s engine-powered plane, with long, hawk-like glider wings, flew over 800 meters at an altitude of 15 meters, according to sworn affadavits signed by 15 attendees of the historic powered flight. Also according to witness reports, (but without sworn affadavits) Whitehead flew over 1 km (over half a mile) in Pittsburgh as early as 1899. This would place the first milestone of heavier-than-air powered flight in the 19th century rather than the 20th. Two modern replicas of Whitehead’s “Number 22” plane have flown successfully.
