debor008

A close study of the iconic picture (third picture, below) of the 1903 Wright flyer reveals strange anomalies. If you observe the cast shadows, you can easily see that they are contradictory.  A bright, sunny day will produce dark crisp shadows like the cast shadows on the box in the foreground shown above. An overcast day like it was on Dec. 17, 1903, will produce fainter, softer shadows like that to the left of Wilbur. One could say a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds hitting the box. But then there would be a cast shadow just as strong to the left of the box on the sand. Note that the cast shadow beneath the plane is dark as opposed to the one cast by Wilbur, which is faint and barely discernible. These shadows should be relatively consistent in the same cloudy conditions.  Adding to the inconsistent shadows, the perspective of the shadows is questionable   Position of the elevator is more than 5-6 degrees   The position of the elevator on the pla...

The picture that the Wrights claimed was taken just as their plane took off from the rail December 17, 1903, has been displayed as a record of the first flight ever made. Orville is piloting the plane, Wilbur has been running alongside, some say, to support the wing. Or to steady it. That's the generally accepted story. The date the famous picture was taken is another case where we have to rely on the word of the Wrights. They said that one of the five witnesses, John Daniels, took the picture but Daniels doesn't remember doing so. ( http://wyso.org/post/first-flight-and-photograph ) In fact it's well documented that in 1908 the Wright brothers returned to Kitty Hawk. The picture could easily have been taken in 1908.* December 1903 or May 1908?* Here is some of the story: After their last claimed flight of four in 1903, the Wrights packed their bags and went home to Dayton, Ohio. They continued their experiments there in new planes, flyers 2 and 3. Flyer 1 had crashed, then...

We are taught in our history books that the Wright Brothers were the first to fly on December 17, 1903. The narrations about that day usually begin dramatically, something like this: "On a cold, windy day near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers lifted off the sand in their small plane and became the first in the history of mankind to fly." Obviously there were manned flights before that in balloons, kites, and gliders. Man even made powered flights. So the definition of what the Wrights claimed that day was changed to be more precise: the Wrights were "the first to make a manned, powered, controlled, sustained flight in a heavier than air machine." But we're looking for truth in aviation history. How do we know the Wrights actually flew that day? Well, there were witnesses who were there, five of them. They were three life guards, John Daniels, Adam Etheridge, and Willie Dough, W.C.Brinkley, a farmer who was said to be beach combing, and Johnny Moor...

The current controversy whether Gustave Whitehead flew before the Wright brothers is hitting international news. It's time to get down to business and tackle the abuse of aviation history that has occurred from the near beginning of the twentieth century. History needs references. References need sources. If a flow chart of references was made for the currently accepted history from any reference back to the original source, a significant number of arrows would point, in the end, to the Wright brothers. Wilbur died in 1912, but Orville lived for another 36 years, dispensing more of  his interpretations of history. A proposed chart of references would need to include any publications by and through our once venerable Smithsonian Institution. Many have as their sources, the brothers Wright. An example of Orville's clouding of history is his publication that Whitehead's flights were "mythical."  ( U.S. Air Services Magazine , 1945) The problem is that the Wrights had...

The Curtiss hydroplane

This is wild. As Tom Hodgekinson said, "I rejected usury, then it rejected me." Moving freely in the land is essential. Leave your car. Take the minimum of gear and reject money. Feel the freedom. You probably won't die..

I was browsing the internet for camping books and I stumbled across this wonderful work of art. Just one look at the website and I had to buy the book. From the first page it's apparent that a lot of love and passion has been put into the Happy Campers. All the text is wonderfully complimented with photographs that really distinctly portray life outdoors. The Happy Campers is written by two childhood friends. Both of whom love camping. This was the idea for the book in their own words. " august 2004 tess has a light bulb moment. there’s no book out there for people like us. we’re not into survival or snazzy equipment but we love camping! no one’s spreading the word about campfires, shooting stars, treasure hunts and making kites. so why don’t we? with tess’s bright idea and kats art skills we begin to make a mock up of the book" It really is a relaxing book to look at. Although I feel there are a few too many "campsite recipes". I loved the star maps, and the ...