Where Are the Real Wright " Flyers"? Part II ( Please Don't Kill the Messenger!)
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The Wright Flyers' Adventures in Wonderland
"Curiouser and curiouser "-- Lewis Carroll
The Wright Flyers' Adventures in Wonderland
"Curiouser and curiouser "-- Lewis Carroll
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The Answer Is: Not Really.
There is little to no believable evidence that the original Wright "Flyers" exist reconstructed anywhere in the world. Claims that they do are based on the narratives of Orville Wright, whose tales have been proven to be questionable at best and absurd at the very least. Please see "More 'Errors,' 'Inaccuracies,' and 'Whoppers' by Orville Wright..." in this blog.
History can not or should not be written on the word of one or two brothers, both who had a great deal to gain in fame and fortune by convincing the world and the courts to accept their claims. Their bias goes without saying.
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Painting the Roses Red
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| From "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" |
"Improperly documented history, or more precisely, fraudulent versions of history not only derive the victims of past injustices due recognition of their suffering, but also rob the living of a fair chance at a future free from the dangers of repeating past injustices."--A . E. Samaan, From a "Race of Masters to a Master Race: 1948 to 1848."
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The Bias of Wright History
The incredibly biased believers comprising the Wright/Smithsonian faction today swallow the Wright claims hook, line, and sinker, even when replicas and science step in to prove much of it wrong. If Orville said the flights of Montgomery, Dumont, and Whitehead were mythical, then the final Wright authority has spoken. If Orville said that the original story of the Langley Aerodrome was fraudulent, it must be true. If Orville said that the Smithsonian and other pioneers were biased against him and his brother and trying to take away their proclaimed title as first to fly, it must be so. (Or "Make it so," as in "Star Trek.") Because so many in the Wright belief system were liars, thieves and cheats, the folks that did the tests of the Langley plane in 1914 must have lied and cheated as well, particularly since the opportunity was there. It didn't/doesn't occur to the Wright people that true scientists would not cheat on results of an experiment to obtain the results they desire.The words science and scientist are derived from the Latin word "scientia" to know. And our research, as will be shown, indicates that they didn't cheat, lie, or commit fraud. It was Orville Wright who said they did. Nor did the Smithsonian, even when they "sold their soul " in 1942, or in 1948, as Jack Carpenter said, ever state that the Langley plane was "incapable" of flight, despite what Wright historians claim..
Those who tested the Langley plane in 1914 had already publicly given the Wrights accolades as first to fly. However, the Smithsonian and others were genuinely interested in whether the Langley plane of 1903 was indeed capable of flight. The tests were promoted and conducted by Secretary Walcott of the Smithsonian, Dr. Zahm of the Langley Lab, (initiated in 1913), Glenn H. Curtiss, respected aviation manufacturer and inventor, Charles Manly, and Alexander Graham Bell.
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Down the Rabbit Hole
(Or "Through the Looking Glass!")
"Alice laughed. ....'one can't believe impossible things.'
'I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen...
'Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.'"--Alice and the White Queen in "Through the Looking Glass."
https://www.nps.gov/daav/getinvolved/upload/Wright-Hall-HSR-2006.pdf
The accepted history of the Wright Flyer III, claimed to be at Carillon Park.
Who built the Wright Flyer III at Dayton--claimed 90 percent original
http://www.woodcenter.org/docs/dayton-conference/gasparini__wrightbrotherspratttruss.pdf
https://www.loc.gov/collection/wilbur-and-orville-wright-papers/about-this-collection/
https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.03073/?st=gallery
Samuel Colt correspondence LOC
"'Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice"
" Alice's Adventures in Wonderland "
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The Bias of Wright History
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| The Queen of Hearts Alice in Wonderland |
To the Wright Brothers, nearly every one else who was a competitor or a non-believer was a liar, cheat, fraud, thief, or had a faulty memory. Pages to prove this statement are in progress in this blog. .But first and foremost, a study of Wright letters and documents indicates that they believed no one was as brilliant as they were We all know people like that. The Wright documents indicate that they were convinced no one could have developed a manned, powered, heavier-than-air plane without the time and labor that they themselves had put into it and without the secrets they believed (or stated) that they alone had discovered. The Wrights wrote their version of history with what appears to be a narcissistic bias and as stated, a desire for enormous fame and fortune.
The incredibly biased believers comprising the Wright/Smithsonian faction today swallow the Wright claims hook, line, and sinker, even when replicas and science step in to prove much of it wrong. If Orville said the flights of Montgomery, Dumont, and Whitehead were mythical, then the final Wright authority has spoken. If Orville said that the original story of the Langley Aerodrome was fraudulent, it must be true. If Orville said that the Smithsonian and other pioneers were biased against him and his brother and trying to take away their proclaimed title as first to fly, it must be so. (Or "Make it so," as in "Star Trek.") Because so many in the Wright belief system were liars, thieves and cheats, the folks that did the tests of the Langley plane in 1914 must have lied and cheated as well, particularly since the opportunity was there. It didn't/doesn't occur to the Wright people that true scientists would not cheat on results of an experiment to obtain the results they desire.The words science and scientist are derived from the Latin word "scientia" to know. And our research, as will be shown, indicates that they didn't cheat, lie, or commit fraud. It was Orville Wright who said they did. Nor did the Smithsonian, even when they "sold their soul " in 1942, or in 1948, as Jack Carpenter said, ever state that the Langley plane was "incapable" of flight, despite what Wright historians claim..
Those who tested the Langley plane in 1914 had already publicly given the Wrights accolades as first to fly. However, the Smithsonian and others were genuinely interested in whether the Langley plane of 1903 was indeed capable of flight. The tests were promoted and conducted by Secretary Walcott of the Smithsonian, Dr. Zahm of the Langley Lab, (initiated in 1913), Glenn H. Curtiss, respected aviation manufacturer and inventor, Charles Manly, and Alexander Graham Bell.
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Down the Rabbit Hole
(Or "Through the Looking Glass!")
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| "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" The late White Rabbit |
'I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen...
'Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.'"--Alice and the White Queen in "Through the Looking Glass."
In the blog post "Where on Earth is the Real Wright Flyer? Part I," we present a reasoned narrative, based mostly on witness testimony, including a letter by Wilbur Wright himself, that the so called "real Wright Flyer" I that the Wrights said they flew at Kill Devil Hills, NC. on December 17, 1903, is not the airplane displayed today at the Smithsonian Institution. The plane there called the original "Wright Flyer" was likely first constructed in 1916 for an exhibit at MIT after the death of Wilbur in 1912. What's more, the 1905 "Flyer" III flown at Kill Devil Hills in 1908 is not the machine displayed at Carillon Park in Dayton, Ohio, either. That plane was put together at Dayton in the 1940's with advice from Orville Wright before he died in 1948. The myths that these are the original planes are based on the narratives of Orville Wright. In these cases,Wilbur had nothing to do with the apparent fraud.
To back up their narratives, Wright historians and their advocates trot out other quotations by the Wrights themselves as proof that what the Wrights originally said is true! For example, they will say that Orville's diary entries prove that his article in the Century magazine in 1908 is true. (Are we down the "rabbit hole," yet?) Too many Wright assertions were/are made without any viable proof demonstrated, and often without any clear or believable means of proof.
Another example, We have found that there is absolutely no acceptable proof that the Wright brothers made a total of four flights on December 17, 1903, as they claimed. They made two attempts that were powered glides, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, according to the statements of witnesses and according to secondary statements.
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Another example, We have found that there is absolutely no acceptable proof that the Wright brothers made a total of four flights on December 17, 1903, as they claimed. They made two attempts that were powered glides, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, according to the statements of witnesses and according to secondary statements.
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| Alice in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
The Evidence
"'Now for the evidence,' said the King, and then the sentence.'
'No!' said the Queen,' first the sentence, and then the evidence!'
'Nonsense!' cried Alice, so loudly that everybody jumped, 'the idea of having the sentence first!'
'Hold your tongue!' said the Queen."
Wright historians have to find ways to discredit statements or even destroy the credibility of any witnesses whose testimonies contradict what the Wrights said. So accepting the Wrights' version of history means accepting the Wrights' destruction of the memories and/or characters of so many people, it defies reason and common sense. A few examples are Etheridge, Daniels, Montgomery, Dumont, Whitehead, Langley, Maloney, and Zahm.
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Eliminating Witnesses
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Eliminating Witnesses
"'Off with his head! Off with her head.!' [cried the Queen of Hearts]....'They're dreadfully fond of
beheading people here' [said Alice]' 'the great wonder is, that there's anyone left alive'"
--from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' by Lewis Carrol
beheading people here' [said Alice]' 'the great wonder is, that there's anyone left alive'"
--from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' by Lewis Carrol
The Wright/Smithsonian faction claims that the Wright machine displayed at the Smithsonian is the original Wright "Flyer"and that 80-90 percent of the original Wright "Flyer" III is on display at Dayton, Ohio, They base this claim on Orville Wright's story that he and Wilbur shipped the Wright "Flyer" back to Dayton, Ohio, in 1903 after their claimed flights December 17, 1903. It was later rebuilt, exhibited and sent to the Science Museum in London, England. After Orville's death, the British returned the claimed "Flyer" back to the U. S. where it now resides at the Smithsonian.
To support the statements of Orville Wright, at least five known witnesses have to be discredited. There are probably more.
The five discredited witnesses are as follows:
1. Adam Etheridge. One of the five eye witnesses at Kill Devil Hills. The Wright believers have scrapped Etheridge's statements, because they don't agree with what the Wrights said. According to Etheridge, he was given the original Wright flyer, the Wright "Flyer" I by the Wrights after their claimed flights on December 17, 1903, and he stored it at his home on the beach at Kitty Hawk. Etheridge said that Wilbur later arranged for its sale to a museum for 25.00 [the Pittsfield Museum in Massachusetts]. The Wright advocates have rewritten the witness testimony by saying that Etheridge confused the original Wright "Flyer" with the machine flown five years later at Kitty Hawk--the Wright "Flyer" III.
2. Adam Etheridge's widow, Mrs. Lillie Etheridge Swindell. Mrs. Swindell stated that she and her husband, Adam Etheridge, stored the Wright "Flyer"I in their attic. They used some of the wood and cloth for various projects, such as quilting frames, picture frames, and clothes for Kitty Hawk kids.
3. Wilbur Wright himself. Wilbur stated in a letter to Doctor Zahm that they didn't build their machines at Kitty Hawk to be shipped and that they didn't try to preserve them. See preceding blog post. (It seems clear that the Wrights did ship back their engines in 1903 and 1908.) LOC
4. Charlie Furnas, eye witness to the Wright activities at Kill Devil Hills in 1908 (See Pages 5 and 6 of link) and first passenger in a Wright plane.
The plane they used at Kill Devil Hills in 1908, according to the Wright version of history, was the 1905 Wright Flyer III, modified to carry a passenger and an upright engine. After Wilbur crashed this plane, Charlie Furnas, who was obviously there, said that the Wrights burned everything flammable right at Kill Devil Hills. Nevertheless, this is the plane that Orville Wright said was sold by Adam Etheridge to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, contradicting both Etheridge and his wife's statements that it was the 1903 Wright Flyer I that was sold to the Museum.
5. Zenas Crane's son in law, Samuel Colt of the Berkshire Museum. Wright historians tell us that the parts, which they said were from the 1905 Wright "Flyer" III plane, were finally sent to Dayton, Ohio, by the Berkshire Museum after years residing in pieces in the basement. They say the parts were used to reconstruct the plane on display in Dayton at Carillon Park, claimed to be the 1905 "Flyer" and 80 to 90 per cent original. Their claim is based, of course, on Orville's obvious contradiction to Etheridge's statement that it was the 1903 Wright Flyer and a contradiction to Charlie Furnas' statement that the 1905 Flyer was destroyed.
But according to Mr. Colt in a letter written to Orville Wright:
"the parts which were sent up by Mr. Etheridge from Kitty Hawk consist of 4 end sections of the main planes, 1 elevator plane, 2 vertical 'fins,' or frames for the elevators and some of the canvas."
Nevertheless, the Wright faction tries to claim that the few parts listed above plus the hardware, the engine, and some pieces found on the beach at Kill Devil Hills comprise nearly 90 per cent of the so called original 1905 Wright "Flyer" on display at Carillon Park in Dayton. But, as we've pointed out, this is the very same plane, the 1905 "Flyer," that Charley Furnas said was completely burned except for the hardware in 1908. So what Dayton received from the Berkshire Museum in the 1940's had to be the remains of the 1903 Flyer. And Adam Etheridge was correct. Final conclusion: absolute fraud by Orville Wright. The American public has been taken for a ride. Neither the original 1903 Wright "Flyer" I nor the original 1905 Wright "Flyer" III, flown in 1908, exists anywhere reconstructed.
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Orville must have told the Pittsfield Museum that they had bought the "Wright Flyer" III from Adam Etheridge, contradicting Etheridge's statement that it was the "Wright Flyer" I that he had sold to them. The museum had no way of knowing the truth or had no way of checking Orville's story. They most likely would have believed Orville over Adam Etheridge, anyway. Wilbur, who had arranged the sale, according to Etheridge, died in 1912.
2. Adam Etheridge's widow, Mrs. Lillie Etheridge Swindell. Mrs. Swindell stated that she and her husband, Adam Etheridge, stored the Wright "Flyer"I in their attic. They used some of the wood and cloth for various projects, such as quilting frames, picture frames, and clothes for Kitty Hawk kids.
3. Wilbur Wright himself. Wilbur stated in a letter to Doctor Zahm that they didn't build their machines at Kitty Hawk to be shipped and that they didn't try to preserve them. See preceding blog post. (It seems clear that the Wrights did ship back their engines in 1903 and 1908.) LOC
4. Charlie Furnas, eye witness to the Wright activities at Kill Devil Hills in 1908 (See Pages 5 and 6 of link) and first passenger in a Wright plane.
5. Zenas Crane's son in law, Samuel Colt of the Berkshire Museum. Wright historians tell us that the parts, which they said were from the 1905 Wright "Flyer" III plane, were finally sent to Dayton, Ohio, by the Berkshire Museum after years residing in pieces in the basement. They say the parts were used to reconstruct the plane on display in Dayton at Carillon Park, claimed to be the 1905 "Flyer" and 80 to 90 per cent original. Their claim is based, of course, on Orville's obvious contradiction to Etheridge's statement that it was the 1903 Wright Flyer and a contradiction to Charlie Furnas' statement that the 1905 Flyer was destroyed.
But according to Mr. Colt in a letter written to Orville Wright:
"the parts which were sent up by Mr. Etheridge from Kitty Hawk consist of 4 end sections of the main planes, 1 elevator plane, 2 vertical 'fins,' or frames for the elevators and some of the canvas."
Nevertheless, the Wright faction tries to claim that the few parts listed above plus the hardware, the engine, and some pieces found on the beach at Kill Devil Hills comprise nearly 90 per cent of the so called original 1905 Wright "Flyer" on display at Carillon Park in Dayton. But, as we've pointed out, this is the very same plane, the 1905 "Flyer," that Charley Furnas said was completely burned except for the hardware in 1908. So what Dayton received from the Berkshire Museum in the 1940's had to be the remains of the 1903 Flyer. And Adam Etheridge was correct. Final conclusion: absolute fraud by Orville Wright. The American public has been taken for a ride. Neither the original 1903 Wright "Flyer" I nor the original 1905 Wright "Flyer" III, flown in 1908, exists anywhere reconstructed.
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Bits and Pieces of the Wright Flyers Here and There
There are apparently bits and pieces of the original Wright "Flyer" scattered about here and there. Below is a list of examples:
1. From a Wright web site: Witness John Daniels was unable to escape from the Wright plane in 1903, when the wind blew it to pieces "Daniels emerged dazed but not seriously hurt, still holding on to a piece of the strut he had grabbed. Daniels held on to this piece of wood all of his life. As he told the story to others, he would take a penknife and shave off a piece of wood and hand it to others as a souvenir."
2. From the website of "Twiddy and Co," which has established a museum about the Wrights and the Kitty Hawk area. Nearly pristine pieces of wood are displayed, identified by Orville as from the original Wright "Flyer."
3. Pieces of the muslin, said to have covered the original Wright "Flyer," have been donated here and there to museums, etc. Although it is highly doubtful that the original cloth could have survived thirteen years, stored in a crate outdoors in Ohio weather and subjected to mud and flood, (Orville Wright's story), there was indeed cloth that Etheridge sold to the Berkshire Museum, along with what was left of the original Wright "Flyer." All of what the Berkshire Museum had, we presume, including the cloth, was sent to Dayton, Ohio, in the 1940's. After years of trying, the museum had given up on Orville's helping them reconstruct the remains of the plane and glider they had bought from Etheridge.
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__________________________________________________________________________________1. From a Wright web site: Witness John Daniels was unable to escape from the Wright plane in 1903, when the wind blew it to pieces "Daniels emerged dazed but not seriously hurt, still holding on to a piece of the strut he had grabbed. Daniels held on to this piece of wood all of his life. As he told the story to others, he would take a penknife and shave off a piece of wood and hand it to others as a souvenir."
2. From the website of "Twiddy and Co," which has established a museum about the Wrights and the Kitty Hawk area. Nearly pristine pieces of wood are displayed, identified by Orville as from the original Wright "Flyer."
3. Pieces of the muslin, said to have covered the original Wright "Flyer," have been donated here and there to museums, etc. Although it is highly doubtful that the original cloth could have survived thirteen years, stored in a crate outdoors in Ohio weather and subjected to mud and flood, (Orville Wright's story), there was indeed cloth that Etheridge sold to the Berkshire Museum, along with what was left of the original Wright "Flyer." All of what the Berkshire Museum had, we presume, including the cloth, was sent to Dayton, Ohio, in the 1940's. After years of trying, the museum had given up on Orville's helping them reconstruct the remains of the plane and glider they had bought from Etheridge.
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The Final Sentence:
"Off with her head!" the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved.
'Who cares for you?' said Alice...'You're nothing but a pack of cards!'
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https://www.nps.gov/daav/getinvolved/upload/Wright-Hall-HSR-2006.pdf
The accepted history of the Wright Flyer III, claimed to be at Carillon Park.
Who built the Wright Flyer III at Dayton--claimed 90 percent original
http://www.woodcenter.org/docs/dayton-conference/gasparini__wrightbrotherspratttruss.pdf
https://www.loc.gov/collection/wilbur-and-orville-wright-papers/about-this-collection/
https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.03073/?st=gallery
Samuel Colt correspondence LOC
"'Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice"
" Alice's Adventures in Wonderland "
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