# Wright Brothers first flight "re-creation": WHO THE HELL CARES???? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 18, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673 "2003-12-18T02:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/21 "2003-12-18T11:42:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > Hell, this isn’t even the first time someone recreated the Wright Brothers’ plane! PBS filmed one such recreation for their “Kitty Hawk” documentary, that one even had a refurbished Wright engine. Unfortunately, it crashed on its (accidental) maiden flight. Sounded like it could be fixed though so it’s possible that the one today was the same plane. The PBS show had the Wright Flyer B - that’s the _improved_ verision of the 1903 flyer, and still not a great aircraft. See, the truth is that the 1903 Wright Flyer is a pretty shitty airplane. Really. The only it had going for it was that in 1903 it was the _best_ airplane, which only goes to show the state of the art in 1903 was pretty nonexistant. And that’s not a slam at Wilbur and Orville, just a statemnt of fact. At that time _no one_ had much clue about how to get in the air, and what to do once you were up there. Anyhow, there’s a _reason_ the boys only flew it four times, then took the pieces home and designed something better. I heard that when the recreation of the 1903 airplane was proposed the FAA at first refused to certify it as airworthy enough to carry a human being. Well, by _our_ standards it’s NOT airworthy! Too heavy for the power it has, and with some very questionable aerodynamic features. Under the best of circumstances, no matter how skilled the pilot, an authentic reproduction of the 1903 flyer is never going to exceed the Wrights’ best efforts. It’s just not a very good airplane. _However,_ as a noteworthy human achievement it is of huge significance. It is very humbling to realize where the vast aerospace industry of today got started, and you do gain a LOT of respect for the boys from Dayton who managed to get that thing in the air not just once but, on December 17, 2003, _multiple_ times in a day. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/22 "2003-12-18T14:04:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > **The PBS show had the Wright Flyer B - that’s the _improved_ verision of the 1903 flyer, and still not a great aircraft.** Sorry, had them confused. I might not even have had the right show. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/23 "2003-12-18T14:14:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BraheSilver \* > \*\*Instead of just a recreation, it could have been a spectacle. When everybody’s watching the Wright plane lumber off the hill, an F-22 should come screaming in from behind at full afterburner just to show how far we’ve gone. \*\* Actually, what’s just what they did—but only the 1903-era plane made the cut on most of the news shows. (And I also care what kind of shoes starlets are buying—I have to know if Jimmy Choo or Steve Madden are In this season!) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/24 "2003-12-18T14:45:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Boo Boo Foo \* > **This thread reminds me of a thread about a year ago when Lance Armstrong won his 4th Tour de France and some fool started a thread asking "Who the fuck cares about some idiot who can ride a bike? Give me NFL. That’s a real sport…"** See, the thing about Lance Armstrong is that, well, he really _is_ a one-ball man. I don’t know if he goes to the rodeo, though… ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/25 "2003-12-18T14:53:33Z")
Besides, this was only _half_ the story. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3330595.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3330595.stm) As it happened, we made another step towards getting back into orbit yesterday, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/26 "2003-12-18T15:01:53Z")
Well, I care. Simply because it’s just _cool_. So there. You sure seemed to have spent an awful lot of time on a rant on the subject of something you don’t care about. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/27 "2003-12-18T15:04:32Z")
**E-Sabbath** , that is cooler than cool. I saw part of a show on Discovery last night about the Flyer project; I was surprised by just how SMALL that plane was. Somehow I always thought of it as bigger. Maybe because in the grand scheme of things, it IS bigger; it may be a terrible, terrible plane but it DID fly. If just barely. I hadn’t realized just how incredibly iffy the plane was until yesterday, not being an aviation buff. I’d have loved to have been there. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/28 "2003-12-18T15:19:25Z")
I’m going to have to agree with the OP here. I wish I had more people like him in my life. You see, there is far too much joy in my life. I’m having way too much fun. I need a larger supply of joyless fucking buzzkills to remind me that too much happiness is not permitted. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/29 "2003-12-18T15:37:50Z")
Would I be wasting my time if I pointed out that “Joyless Buzzkills” would make an excellent band name? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/30 "2003-12-18T16:05:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olentzero \* > \*\*Would I be wasting my time if I pointed out that “Joyless Buzzkills” would make an excellent band name? \*\* Who would ever listen to them? Besides cynical Gen Xers, that is? ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/31 "2003-12-18T18:17:06Z")
Based on his handle, my guess is that the OP is a fan of shitty Metallica music, and as such is in no position to declare what is a waste of time. I would go so far as to insist that his listening to said album is a bigger waste of time than any rememberance of a historical event. I would go even further to add that ANYTHING Mr. Anger (IF THAT’S YOUR REAL NAME) does with his life will be a bigger waste of time than a historical recreation. ---
**Author:** ![outside\_artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@outside\_artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outside_artist)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/32 "2003-12-18T18:43:57Z")
I actually agree with you, largely because it pisses me off the the Wright Bros. were actually not the first ones to have flown an aircraft. Gustav Weisskopf did so before them, but he was not much of a self-promoter, so he never got the credit for it that they did. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/33 "2003-12-18T18:58:26Z")
I think **flodnak** nailed it. In addition to the recreation being a very cool way to commemorate a significant event in world history, it also shows the value of ingenuity and determination. If we don’t remember where we came from, and how we got to where we are, how are we ever going to go any farther? There are young people today who will have the great ideas of the future, and by showing them what the Wright brothers did, we can encourage them to turn those ideas into reality. Orville Wright lived until _1948_. He got to see his invention become a fact of life. I can’t think of anything cooler than that. Besides, we need someone to build those flying cars. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/34 "2003-12-18T19:31:44Z")
I love all the attempts and all the failure. To underestimate the Wrights is just poetic. They had thousands of hours in gliders, models and prototypes before they knew how to fly. Once the men with the knowledge were married to the plane with the power and control, flight happened. The people should not be hated for trying, because man will ultimately benefit from knowing that too many people underestimated the Wrights’ achievements for too long. The numbskulls who think they just need a reproduction of the aircraft are dumbasses. And to pick an exact time is even dumber. The Wrights used Kitthyhawk because it was right at that time. But to go back to Kittyhawk now, where trees have altered with wind flow and character, is damn foolish. So I love the recreations…and subsequent failures They make the Wrights’ level of genius something special. Don’t know how you could bitch about that. As for the folks watching: They ain’t out there hurting anyone. No ignorance to be pissed about there. At worst, they are learning something. You learn alot from failure. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/35 "2003-12-18T19:46:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Not a Well Woman \* > \*\*I actually agree with you, largely because it pisses me off the the Wright Bros. were actually not the first ones to have flown an aircraft. Gustav Weisskopf did so before them, but he was not much of a self-promoter, so he never got the credit for it that they did. \*\* No, Whitehead didn’t get the credit because he never demonstrated it like the Wright brothers did. He issued press releases and such, but never a truly public demonstration. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/36 "2003-12-18T20:16:45Z")
There is no evidence that Whitehead/Weisskopf flew at all, and even less that he understood how an airplane would work. Link. Rather, he looks like just another eager garage tinkerer, one of many. **flodnak** and **spoilervirgin** are dead on. Well said. ---
**Author:** ![SpectBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@SpectBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpectBrain)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/37 "2003-12-18T20:27:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*I care. I think it amazing and humorous that, considering how advanced airplanes have become, this little rinky-dink prehistoric plane is kicking everybody’s ass. \*\* I like the guys for their attempt at the recreation of the first flight because it shows what kind of difficulties the brothers Wright had to overcome in order to become airborne and that the attempt celebrates the enormous engineering accomplishment that the Wright’s achieved. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/38 "2003-12-18T20:27:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Not a Well Woman \* > \*\*I actually agree with you, largely because it pisses me off the the Wright Bros. were actually not the first ones to have flown an aircraft. Gustav Weisskopf did so before them, but he was not much of a self-promoter, so he never got the credit for it that they did. \*\* Actually he was quite the self promoter. The problem he had was that the claims he made were never verifiable and sometimes even absurd. > [@](#): > > The exaggerated claims made by him, such as reaching speeds of 70 miles an hour in flight (which was why, he wrote at the time, that no photographs could be taken of his machine in flight… it was simply too fast), and those made on his behalf have only served to undercut his case. At best, he achieved a very capable hopping machine. > [@](#): > > At least a few of the witnesses to Whitehead’s endeavors stated reasonable observations, such as those of John S. Lesko, who affirmed in 1934 that “About September, 1901, I was present on the occasion when Mr. Whitehead succeeded in flying his machine propelled by motor, on a flight of 50-foot intervals at about four feet off the ground, for a length of time approximating a few seconds at a time.” That he was an aviation enthusiast is beyond doubt, but there is quite a bit of doubt about whether or not what he built qualified as a true aircraft. [http://www.flyingmachines.org/gwhtd.html](http://www.flyingmachines.org/gwhtd.html) ---
**Author:** ![SpectBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@SpectBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpectBrain)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/39 "2003-12-18T20:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E-Sabbath \* > \*\*Besides, this was only _half_ the story. > [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3330595.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3330595.stm) > > As it happened, we made another step towards getting back into orbit yesterday, as well. \*\* > [@](#): > > The sound barrier has been breached by a privately built rocket-plane, the first time it has been done without government help. > > Scaled Composites of California flew their SpaceShipOne rocket-plane at Mach 1.2 to an altitude of 68,000 ft. > > The company is run by Burt Rutan, who was behind the Voyager aircraft that flew non-stop around the world without refuelling in 1986. This is just so cool! I saw this yesterday and was going to start a thread about it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673/40 "2003-12-18T20:36:43Z")
Hey, don’t anybody tell the OP about the Society for Creative Anachronism. Trinopus [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wright-brothers-first-flight-re-creation-who-the-hell-cares/219673.md?page=3)