The first powered flight
An evening pause: Tomorrow will be the anniversary of the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. How about a compliation of movie clips showing the Wright Brothers themselves in the air.
Hat tip Tom Biggar.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
From flying a fancy box kite to flying a rocket to the moon and back, I think those two bicycle mechanics had an idea of what they had achieved! Creating wind tunnels to test theory and airfoil shapes goes well beyond rudimentary skills required to make and repair two wheelers!
Thanks to these guys, I have enjoyed a wonderful career of 28,000 hours flying time with both a major airline and a military career of 20 years single seat fighter time in the A-7 and F-16.
My hero’s !
Amazing…within the span of seven decades, the US went from the first powered/controlled manned flight to ultimately landing a man on the moon and returning safely to earth. Since landing on the moon, almost five decades have past and we can only note NASA doing pc islamic outreach and advancing the global warming adgenda. Pathetic!
Hopefully….things will begin to change and we will return to thinking YUGE and doing YUGE things AGAIN.
Bill R:
The F-16 must be the ultimate ride, two thumbs up to you. (Not that the A-7 is a slouch)
It is near-impossible to overstate the Wright’s achievement; and visiting Kitty Hawk is sublime. I’ve written several airlines about making 17 Dec ‘Bikes Fly Free’ day, but so far no takers.
Unbelievable how fast aviation evolved in early years, not to compared to space flight. Whereas, a few, not specialized men (bicycle designer) were enough to design, build and operate first airplanes, it required in contrast the most powerful and advanced governments to achieve same in case of space flight.
Jwing: I support your message by every word.
I’ve read a number of books on their journey to powered flight–all good reads. I encourage everyone to learn more about the Wright’s and their American story of experimentation and achievement.
Jwing wrote: “Since landing on the moon, almost five decades have past and we can only note NASA doing pc islamic outreach and advancing the global warming adgenda. Pathetic!”
But then, what should we expect from a presidential administration that has left (to paraphrase Dr. Paul D. Spudis) an abundance of confusion in America’s space program?
A century after a couple of bicycle shopkeepers were able to invent an airplane, free from government intervention, we see rocket and spacecraft makers pondering the next regulation changes to their own inventions. Worse, the government keeps talking about changing regulatory bodies from the current agencies to other agencies, meaning that a whole new set of people will want to mark their own, new, regulatory territories (if you aren’t picturing them peeing all over the manufacturers and operators, I communicated poorly).
But I gripe when I should celebrate the day.
Bill R’s sentiment is best: “My hero’s!“