A description and photographs of Whitehead's aircraft appeared in Scientific American in June 1901, stating that the "novel flying machine" had just been completed, and was "now ready for preliminary trials."

Whitehead said he tested his unmanned machine on 3 May, according to a newspaper report.

He said in the first test the machine carried 220 pounds of sand ballast and flew to an altitude of 40 to 50 feet for 1/8 of a mile (201 metres (659 ft)).
On the second test Whitehead said the machine flew a distance of 1/2 mile (805 metres (2,641 ft)) for one and a half minutes before crashing into a tree.
The report said Andrew Cellie and Daniel Varovi were Whitehead's financial backers and assistants.
Whitehead expressed his desire to keep the location of any future experiments hidden to avoid drawing a crowd that might make a "snap-shot verdict of failure".

The aviation event for which Whitehead is now best known reportedly took place in Fairfield, Connecticut, on 14 August 1901 and was described at length in an article in the edition of 18 August 1901 of the weekly Bridgeport Herald newspaper.
The article, written as an eyewitness report, stated that Whitehead piloted his Number 21 aircraft in a controlled powered flight for about half a mile, reaching a height of 50 feet (15 m) and landing safely.
The unsigned article is widely attributed to journalist Richard Howell, later the newspaper's editor.
The flight, if it actually took place, preceded the Wright brothers' first powered flights near Kitty Hawk in 1903 by more than two years, and exceeded the best one, which covered 852 feet (260 m) at a height of about 10 feet (3.0 m).

The article was accompanied by a drawing, also credited by some Whitehead researchers to Howell, which depicted the aircraft in flight.
The drawing was purportedly based on a photograph, which has not been proven to exist.
Information from the article was reprinted in the New York Herald, Boston Transcript and The Washington Times, which ran it on 23 August 1901.
In the following months, dozens of other newspapers around the world published articles mentioning the reported flight or other aviation activity by Whitehead.

The Bridgeport Herald reported that Whitehead and another man drove to the testing area in the machine, which, when the wings were folded along its sides, functioned as a car.
Two other people, including the newspaper reporter, followed on bicycles.
For short distances, the Number 21's speed was close to thirty miles an hour on the uneven road, and the article said, "there seems no doubt that the machine can reel off forty miles an hour and not exert the engine to its fullest capacity.".

The newspaper reported that before attempting to pilot the aircraft, Whitehead successfully test flew it unmanned, using tether ropes and sandbag ballast.
When Whitehead was ready to make a manned flight, the article said: "By this time the light was good.
Faint traces of the rising sun began to suggest themselves in the east."

According to the newspaper article, trees blocked the way after the flight had started.
Whitehead was quoted as saying, "I knew that I could not clear them by rising higher, and also that I had no means of steering around them by using the machinery."
The article said Whitehead quickly thought of a solution to steer around the trees:
He simply shifted his weight more to one side than the other.
This careened the ship to one side.
She turned her nose away from the clump of sprouts when within fifty yards of them and took her course around them as prettily as a yacht on the sea avoids a bar.
The ability to control the air ship in this manner appeared to give Whitehead confidence, for he was seen to take time to look at the landscape about him.
He looked back and waved his hand exclaiming, 'I've got it at last.'

When Whitehead neared the end of a field, the article said he turned off the motor and the aircraft landed "so lightly that Whitehead was not jarred in the least."

Junius Harworth, who as a boy was one of Whitehead's helpers, said Whitehead flew the airplane at another ti
A description and photographs of Whitehead's aircraft appeared in Scientific American in June 1901, stating that the "novel flying machine" had just been completed, and was "now ready for preliminary trials."
Whitehead said he tested his unmanned machine on 3 May, according to a newspaper report.
He said in the first test the machine carried 220 pounds of sand ballast and flew to an altitude of 40 to 50 feet for 1/8 of a mile (201 metres (659 ft)). On the second test Whitehead said the machine flew a distance of 1/2 mile (805 metres (2,641 ft)) for one and a half minutes before crashing into a tree. The report said Andrew Cellie and Daniel Varovi were Whitehead's financial backers and assistants. Whitehead expressed his desire to keep the location of any future experiments hidden to avoid drawing a crowd that might make a "snap-shot verdict of failure".
The aviation event for which Whitehead is now best known reportedly took place in Fairfield, Connecticut, on 14 August 1901 and was described at length in an article in the edition of 18 August 1901 of the weekly Bridgeport Herald newspaper. The article, written as an eyewitness report, stated that Whitehead piloted his Number 21 aircraft in a controlled powered flight for about half a mile, reaching a height of 50 feet (15 m) and landing safely. The unsigned article is widely attributed to journalist Richard Howell, later the newspaper's editor. The flight, if it actually took place, preceded the Wright brothers' first powered flights near Kitty Hawk in 1903 by more than two years, and exceeded the best one, which covered 852 feet (260 m) at a height of about 10 feet (3.0 m).
The article was accompanied by a drawing, also credited by some Whitehead researchers to Howell, which depicted the aircraft in flight. The drawing was purportedly based on a photograph, which has not been proven to exist. Information from the article was reprinted in the New York Herald, Boston Transcript and The Washington Times, which ran it on 23 August 1901. In the following months, dozens of other newspapers around the world published articles mentioning the reported flight or other aviation activity by Whitehead.
The Bridgeport Herald reported that Whitehead and another man drove to the testing area in the machine, which, when the wings were folded along its sides, functioned as a car. Two other people, including the newspaper reporter, followed on bicycles. For short distances, the Number 21's speed was close to thirty miles an hour on the uneven road, and the article said, "there seems no doubt that the machine can reel off forty miles an hour and not exert the engine to its fullest capacity.".
The newspaper reported that before attempting to pilot the aircraft, Whitehead successfully test flew it unmanned, using tether ropes and sandbag ballast. When Whitehead was ready to make a manned flight, the article said: "By this time the light was good. Faint traces of the rising sun began to suggest themselves in the east."
According to the newspaper article, trees blocked the way after the flight had started. Whitehead was quoted as saying, "I knew that I could not clear them by rising higher, and also that I had no means of steering around them by using the machinery." The article said Whitehead quickly thought of a solution to steer around the trees:
He simply shifted his weight more to one side than the other. This careened the ship to one side. She turned her nose away from the clump of sprouts when within fifty yards of them and took her course around them as prettily as a yacht on the sea avoids a bar. The ability to control the air ship in this manner appeared to give Whitehead confidence, for he was seen to take time to look at the landscape about him. He looked back and waved his hand exclaiming, 'I've got it at last.'
When Whitehead neared the end of a field, the article said he turned off the motor and the aircraft landed "so lightly that Whitehead was not jarred in the least."
Junius Harworth, who as a boy was one of Whitehead's helpers, said Whitehead flew the airplane at another ti
Gustave Whitehead