|
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 08/13/2012 : 11:23:50
|
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2012 : 15:02:54 [Permalink]
|
| Carl Sagan forgets that the true genius is the New Zeeland filmmaker Colin McKenzie, who by the way documented on film that the Wright Brothers weren't first to fly. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
 |
|
|
Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2012 : 15:58:15 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
Carl Sagan forgets that the true genius is the New Zeeland filmmaker Colin McKenzie, who by the way documented on film that the Wright Brothers weren't first to fly.
|
When living in NZ, I remember hearing the claim that a kiwi was the first person ever to achieve powered flight. I just performed a quick google search that revealed that this guy was called Richard Pearse and he MIGHT have flown before the Wright brothers. I also found out that Colin McKenzie is a fictional character who was the subject of a mockumentary by Peter Jackson. |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
|
|
|
Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2012 : 19:06:34 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by Hawks
a mockumentary by Peter Jackson.
|
That's indeed the movie I was referring to. "Forgotten Silver" by Peter Jacksson. Awesome movie which I highly recommend.
|
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2012 : 23:16:31 [Permalink]
|
By the time of the Wright Brothers, the essentials of sustained, powered, heavier-than-air manned flight had finally come together: The construction of practical airframes and an understanding of their flight principles (especially with the gliders of Otto Lilienthal and Octave Chanute), and the use of small, light gasoline and even steam engines capable of providing practice power (Samuel Langley and the Wright brothers employed gas engines, while Clément Ader and Sir Hiram Maxim used steam.)
A number of powered, heavier-than-air, manned aircraft "flew" to one degree or another before the Wrights made their most famous flight on December 17, 1903. But theirs was the best such flight in terms of duration to date, and won history's accolades for "first flight." Orville Wright wrote:| Wilbur started the fourth and last flight at just about 12 o'clock. The first few hundred feet were up and down, as before, but by the time three hundred ft had been covered, the machine was under much better control. The course for the next four or five hundred feet had but little undulation. However, when out about eight hundred feet the machine began pitching again, and, in one of its darts downward, struck the ground. The distance over the ground was measured to be 852 feet; the time of the flight was 59 seconds. The frame supporting the front rudder was badly broken, but the main part of the machine was not injured at all. We estimated that the machine could be put in condition for flight again in about a day or two. |
It could have been any of a number of aviation enthusiasts who became the first to fly in a powered lighter-than-air craft.
The Wrights had labored and experimented for years with kites, gliders, engines, and systems for controlling their craft. I believe their results are the most unambiguous "First Flight." But as has happened many times in history, when the time (and foundational knowledge) comes for an invention or discovery, it often comes to life simultaneously all over the world. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 08/13/2012 23:33:23 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Sagan on Genius
