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JerryBaumchen

Replica of Wright brothers 1910 plane crashes in Ohio, killing 2

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Doesn't surprise me. I saw a documentary several years ago about building and flying a Wright replica. From the description the pilot gave of flying it, the thing was a deathtrap.
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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Doesn't surprise me. I saw a documentary several years ago about building and flying a Wright replica. From the description the pilot gave of flying it, the thing was a deathtrap.



Ditto for the Spirit of St. Louis replicas. The general consensus from people who've flown one is complete amazement that Lindbergh ever made it.
It's all been said before, no sense repeating it here.

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From the little I've read, it sounds like the Wright planes had terrible pitch and directional stability -- a real challenge to fly.

I'll check back on this accident in a few months, to see what the NTSB report says. Not their usual fare.

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I'd like to throw this into the pot. Not everyone knows about Lyman Gilmore of Grass Valley CA. I live in Grass Valley, and have met a very old timer lady who knew the man. His first powered plane flew in 1902. His airport opened in 1908. Grass Valley had no large publicity news crew working to tell the world about it. Gold was the word around here. First in powered flight.........http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyman_Gilmore......It's not a secret, it's just history. The Wright Brothers were not the first in powered flight, and apparently, their plane design sucked anyway.
Life is short ... jump often.

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When I was about 7, I tried to replicate the very first parachute jump with a trash bag and my second-story window. I was only mildly hurt, and not killed. This may be proof that skydiving is safer than flying aircraft.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

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I'd like to throw this into the pot. Not everyone knows about Lyman Gilmore of Grass Valley CA. I live in Grass Valley, and have met a very old timer lady who knew the man. His first powered plane flew in 1902. His airport opened in 1908. Grass Valley had no large publicity news crew working to tell the world about it. Gold was the word around here. First in powered flight.........http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyman_Gilmore......It's not a secret, it's just history. The Wright Brothers were not the first in powered flight, and apparently, their plane design sucked anyway.



Jacob Brodbeck beat that by several years in 1865 in a coil spring powered "airship":D:

http://texaslesstraveled.com/brodbeck.htm

"The airship, featured an enclosed space for the "aeronaut," a water propeller in case of accidental landings on water, a compass, and a barometer.

While there were plenty of credible witnesses to the history-making event, no one bothered to take photographs, so the exact size, shape and success or failure of the air ship's maiden voyage is purely a matter of speculation. But according to published accounts, Brodbeck's air ship managed to lift off from the ground above 12 feet and fly a distance of about 100 feet before the coil came unwound and the ship crashed into a chicken coup injuring the inventor.

It may have not been an earth-shattering feat, but it certainly qualified as the first successful powered flight of an aircraft, predating Wilbur and Orville's Kittyhawk flight by 40 years.
The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

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Sounds like powered flight to me......got off the ground using a mechanical device, and moved 100 ft.......By the way, Lyman Gilmore never claimed first powered flight. I don't think he cared. According to records, he flew a mile. History claiming the Wright Bros. were first is just wrong.
Life is short ... jump often.

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people like octave chanute and otto linienthal (sp?) were making successfull non powered flights in the late 1800's, supposedly a man by the name of gustave whitehead out of new england flew early 1900's before the wright brothers. the wright brothers were, i fully believe, the first to create sustained powered CONTROLLED flight. but they also weren't very creative, they used otto's airfoil research, and for nearly a decade after their "flyer" were still building planes that looked pretty much the same. Glen Curtis (who later joined forces with the wrights and formed the "Curtis Wright Corporation") was much more ingenious than the brothers from Ohio, he came up with ailerons (which the wrights sued him for, claiming that it was an infringement on their "wing warping" patent) and conventional tailplane surfaces and built much more stable aircraft. I would believe that if people did in fact beat the wright brothers to powered flight that they would be the people we think about when we hear "first in flight". when the wright brothers first flew, they didn't sensationalize their achievement but instead worked diligently to get patents to protect their creation. they did however get jus the right people to witness the first flight as to make a credible claim. there are many people who claimed to beat them, but there is little substantial evidence to prove it. the brothers had evidence and therefore that are considered the first in flight, because they are the only ones to prove it.

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why do people think that driving/flying a machine from the very first version is somehow 'safe'? It might be a dream or a goal, perhaps, but still foolish.

Who would do a base jump off El Cap with a strato star? Who's still interested in skydiving out of a LodeStar?

Flying a 100 year old design of an airplane and then you get killed...wow, that's a real brain-teaser. 100 year old airplanes should be in museums, not in the air. sorry, but no sympathy from me.

Brave maybe, but expect the outcome if you are going to do stuff like that.

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