"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message et...
"robert arndt" wrote in message
om...

At least the two GW No.21 replicas both flew easily.


No true GW No.21 replica has ever been constructed.



The GW
No.21, OTOH, took off under its own power and flew about half a mile-
in 1901.


No credible evidence of any flight GW No.21 has ever been produced.

I think that the final summation of the dilemma is in the fact that
although a fair number of pioneers in the 19th century and early 20th
managed to make short uncontrolled hops or glides and that some even
built aircraft that may have been, given the right conditions, capable
of flight - none persevered with their ideas to the point where a
viable flying machine resulted. That is one which could ultimately be
depended upon to fly nearly every time and which finally evolved
beyond a curiosity into a practical tool. Furthermore, like nearly
every major invention, the Wrights stood on the shoulders of many of
those pioneers, evolving and combining proven technologies to the
point where it could all come together in one machine.

As for Herr Weisskopf, if he did indeed fly, his publicity department
let him down badly. The controversy goes back many, many years - I
recall reading something in the mid-sixties where fervent supporters
were kicking up a fuss.
However, having arranged for his aircraft to be photographed
statically, why did he not also arrange for one to be photographed in
flight? Strange that. The excuse that he only flew at night is also
peculiar. And his witnesses' statements are also slightly less than
credible. And finally, having built a flying machine why did he not
persist and evolve the thing into a practical machine - and here we
really run into some pathetic arguments such as he was not interested
in flying, only evolving a motor. If indeed this latter argument was
the case he would have done better with a horseless carriage rather
than attempting to pioneer two unkowns at once.

In the final summation it matters little whether Whitehead did indeed
manage
sustained, controllable flight prior to the Wrights. He neither
exploited it nor documented it beyond reasonable doubt and he
certainly did not advance to a point where he could demonstrate his
achievement repeatedly.

That honour indisputably goes to Orville and Wilbur. Whether the
modern replica of their machine flies or not neither proves nor
disproves that fact.

Eugene Griessel