من هو مخترع الطائرة؟
من هو مخترع الطائرة؟ - الترا صوت
عباس بن فرناس هو عالم أندلسي من القرن التاسع الميلادي. يعتبر مخترع الطائرة الأول ومن رواد علوم الطيران وأول من جسّد حلم الارتفاع في الأجواء بتصم ...
Feb 14, 2024
غوستاف وايتهيد
هناك أقاويل عن نجاح المهندس <anchor>غوستاف وايتهيد</anchor> الذي هاجر من ألمانيا إلى أمريكا في تحقيق رحلة بطائرة بمحركٍ، سبقت رحلة الأخوين رايت بحوالي عامين. غير أن هذا الادعاء يثير التشكيك من حيث مصداقية الشهود، وقلة التوثيق الكافي لهذه الرحلة. لذا قد لا يعد غوستاف وايتهيد مخترع الطائرة الأول.
The Flight Claims of Gustave Whitehead | National Air and Space Museum
Show Search barHide Search BarShow Primary MenuHide Primary Menu

Visit

### Visit

View of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center tower at sunset

### One museum, two locations

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.

What's On

### What's On

Apollo 11: Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

### At the museum and online

Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually.

Explore

### Explore

space shuttle launch

### Dive deep into air and space

Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content.

Learn

### Learn

Women in Aviation and Space Family Day

### For teachers and parents

Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are.

Give

### Give

Bob Hoover Gives an Air Show Performance

### Be the spark

Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts.

The Flight Claims of Gustave Whitehead

Apr 06, 2013

HomeThe Flight Claims of Gustave Whitehead

Gustave Whitehead is back in the news. Whitehead (1874-1927), a native of Leutershausen, Bavaria, who immigrated to the United States, probably in 1894, claimed to have made a sustained powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine on August  14, 1901, two years before the Wright brothers. He further claimed that he had made additional flights of two and seven miles in January 1902. The standard arguments in favor of Whitehead’s flight claims were first put forward in a book published in 1937, and have been restated many times, most recently in a controversial website that persuaded the editor of aviation reference annual, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft to support the claims. The evidence in the Whitehead case includes questionable news articles, much testimony both for and against the claims, and a supposed photograph of Whitehead’s Number 22 machine in the air, which, if it ever existed, has not been seen since 1906. Supporters of the claims have been arguing in favor of Whitehead for many years, while the critics, like me, have been vigorously refuting their evidence. I believe that the time has come to move beyond the confusing mass of contradictory detail, rising out of the trees to gain a view of the forest and reach a rational conclusion. Why do I reject the Whitehead claims? Consider this sequence of events.

- Fall 1897: In October 1897 a reporter for the New York Herald interviewed Whitehead at his boarding house at 130 Prince Street, where he saw two flying machines. The first was a triplane hang glider clearly based on a similar craft designed the year  before by Chicago engineer Octave Chanute and his assistant, Augustus Moore Herring, and flown by Herring in the dunes ringing the southern shore of Lake Michigan in the summer of 1896, and again in 1897.The fact that Whitehead was flying a copy of the Chanute-Herring original indicates that he was working with the most advanced aircraft structure of the era. But Whitehead showed the reporter a second machine that was under construction. This craft was very different, with bird or bat-like wings that would have been much more frail than the sturdy, braced triplane wings.

- 1901-1902: Whitehead, now living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, claimed that on August 14, 1901 he had flown a machine that he identified as Number 21 for a distance of one-half mile. He later claimed to have flown Number 22, a heavier version of his basic design with a metal structure, for flights of two and seven miles over Long Island Sound.With their birdlike wings, Numbers 21 and 22 had obviously evolved from the original craft shown to the reporter in 1897. They represent a step backwards from the trussed beam structure of his Chanute-Herring glider.

- September 1903: In the fall of 1903, a reporter for the Scientific American visited Whitehead in Bridgeport.Twenty months after he claimed to have made a seven mile flight in the bird-like Number 22, Whitehead is once again experimenting with a new version of the Chanute-Herring triplane hang glider. The questions are apparent.

Why was Whitehead no longer flying Numbers 21, 22, or a more developed version of the configuration in which he claimed to have enjoyed such success?   Why did Whitehead abandon a configuration that he claimed had enabled him to make flights of up to seven miles, in favor of returning to a design that was now eight years old and obsolete?   Why did Whitehead not call the attention of the readers of the Scientific American to his claim to have flown a very different powered machine over considerable distances less than two years before?

Over the next decade, as aviators in American and Europe took to the sky following the pattern established by the Wright brothers, Whitehead would continue to build aircraft for other enthusiasts. Not one of those powered machines ever left the ground. My conclusion--either Whitehead had somehow forgotten the secrets of flight, or he had never flown a powered machine at all.

In its issue of December 26, 1903, just three months after Scientific American had reported Whitehead’s experiments with an obsolete hang glider, the journal noted that the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright had made some “successful experiments” with a powered flying machine operating under the complete control of a pilot.  Unlike Whitehead, who had kept virtually no record his experiments, the Wrights had documented their work in detailed, notebooks, letters, and photographs, including what is arguably the most famous photograph ever taken.

Wright Flyer With Orville Wright at the controls and Wilbur Wright mid-stride, right, the 1903 Wright Flyer makes its first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, December 17, 1903.

I rest my case.   Tom Crouch is a senior curator in the Aeronautics Department at the National Air and Space Museum.

Related TopicsAviationEarly flightPeopleRecords and Firsts

TwitterComments? Contact Us

You may also like

AirSpace Season 9 Episode 8: Limited Edition

The Martin K-III Kitten

What Happened to the Concordes?

The Man Who Brought Home Earth: Stories of Bill Anders

Support the Museum

We rely on the generous support of donors, sponsors, members, and other benefactors to share the history and impact of aviation and spaceflight, educate the public, and inspire future generations.  With your help, we can continue to preserve and safeguard the world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts representing the great achievements of flight and space exploration.

Donate NowBecome a Member

Stay up to date on the latest stories and events with our newsletter

#### Thank you. You have successfully signed up for our newsletter.

## Error message

#### Sorry, there was a problem. Please ensure your details are valid and try again.

National Air and Space Museum

Open daily

10:00 am - 5:30 pm

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Open daily

10:00 am - 5:30 pm