LET US NOW PRAISE GEORGE CAYLEY - HE OUGHT TO BE MORE FAMOUS
SA Flyer Magazine|March 2022
A few years ago some Connecticut boosters recently dusted off the claim that Gustave Whitehead, of the township of Fairfield in that great state, was “first in flight”. I, and I suspect quite a few others, emitted a sigh of jaded déjà vu.
PETER GARRISON
LET US NOW PRAISE GEORGE CAYLEY - HE OUGHT TO BE MORE FAMOUS

THESE “WHO WAS FIRST” arguments have become pretty tedious. Predictably, the few who were stirred to action by the Whitehead claim trotted out their own candidates: Clément Ader, Richard Pearse, Karl Jatho, Alberto Santos-Dumont and so on.

That all the usual suspects cluster around the turn of the twentieth century is no accident. The basic principles of flight were already understood. Model aeroplanes and man carrying gliders existed. Beginning around 1890, when small, powerful gasoline engines became available, there was such a surge in aeronautical experimentation that success was both imminent and inevitable. Being first was a distinction merely of degree.

The Wrights’ claim to priority is the best documented, both photographically and in extensive journals, notebooks, and correspondence. Some of the others are doubtful for various reasons, including, in the case of Ader, his batlike Éole’s lack of any provision for either stability or control. Any large object can become airborne, provided it is light enough and the wind sufficiently strong, but a practical aeroplane must be either stable or controllable, or, preferably, a little of both. Ader’s late compatriot, Alphonse Pénaud, had already demonstrated, with rubber band-powered flying models, how stability, both longitudinal and lateral,was to be achieved, but Ader, though no fool, foolishly ignored the lesson.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2022-Ausgabe von SA Flyer Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2022-Ausgabe von SA Flyer Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS SA FLYER MAGAZINEAlle anzeigen
Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
SA Flyer Magazine

Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN

Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
June 2024
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
SA Flyer Magazine

UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6

When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
June 2024
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
SA Flyer Magazine

CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA

What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?

time-read
2 Minuten  |
June 2024
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024

The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
June 2024
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024

This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
June 2024
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
SA Flyer Magazine

PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)

Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
June 2024
APRIL 2023
SA Flyer Magazine

APRIL 2023

April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
June 2024
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
SA Flyer Magazine

PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE

One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
June 2024
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
SA Flyer Magazine

STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW

The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
June 2024
The Aim of Bombing
SA Flyer Magazine

The Aim of Bombing

In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
June 2024