(12-19-2023, 11:11 AM)The Drifter Wrote:

(12-19-2023, 09:08 AM)homebiscuit Wrote: I sailed about a year and a half of total at-sea time onboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). That’s enough Kitty Hawk history for me.

Thank you for your service Homebiscuit!!!!!

Ditto.  Thank you for your service, Homebiscuit.   

I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum a couple of months ago, and they have a very large exhibit on the Wright Brothers, including the original airplane they few at Kitty Hawk.

Here's a fascinating article about their attempts to market their airplane.  They had to go to France because so many people in the US were skeptical of their claims, and the US Army wasn't interested in buying the technology.  

“The Wright Aeroplane and its Fabled Performance” - HistoricWings.com :: A Magazine for Aviators, Pilots and Adventurers

Léon Delagrange, one of France’s leading aviators and designers... quipped simply, [i]“Nous sommes battus”[/i], which translates from French as “We are beaten.” 

In October 1908, from Le Mans, France, Wilbur Wright wrote that, “Princes & millionaires are thick as fleas.”  Indeed, the three Wrights were celebrated as heroes and invited to dinners wherever they went.  Crowds gathered for their demonstration flights and newspapers published breathless reports.  The French military was astonished at the aeroplane that the Wrights had brought over and confirmed their interest in a business deal to license the technology.

Wright brothers 1908 France (youtube.com)

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