I’ve been to the moon, if by “been to” you mean “read about”
Very Awesome
Man achieves personal flight, again and in some ways less in less impressive fashion that in other recent successes. Head over to Europe and the same goals are achieved in a more spectacular fashion. This seems to harken back to the minor controversy over who really invented the airplane. The Wright Brothers original invention required a catapult for take-off, whereas Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont built the first airplane that didn’t require assistance for take-off, documented and verified by impartial observers. While no one argues that the Wright brothers flew, there are questions about what constitutes enough of a flight to win the accolade of first airplane. By some definitions we’ve achieved time travel already, but there’s a question of substance on precisely what will eventually determine what “time travel” is.
Regardless of where the credit will fall, it seems that we are in a window of time where some decree of personal flight may become a reality. And if history is a dependable teacher, what qualifies as personal flight now and what personal flight will become in the not-too-distant future will be vastly different.
Tags: aviation, controversy, flight, personal flight, time travel, wright brothers
August 1st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Thank you so much for mentioning Alberto Santos-Dumont. I did a children’s book about him. You can read about it at the website above. It’s great to see him getting the attention he deserves. He has been forgotten because he wouldn’t take out patents. Alberto was such a great humanitarian, and his story issuch an inspiration, he should be remembered. (He was even invited to the White House by Teddy Roosevelt.) Thanks so much for mentioning him! All the best, Elisabeth Waugaman (P.S. Alberto also invented a rocket powered backpack for skiers that reminds me a bit of the personal flying machine you have filmed )
August 1st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Thank you so much for mentioning Alberto! He deserves a lot more attention than he gets. He has been forgotten because he would not patent. He was such a great humanitarian and his story is so inspiring, he should be remembered. ( I did a children’s book about him. You can read about him and see some of the illustrations based on Alberto’s descriptions of flight at the website above. (Alberto designed a rocket powered backpack for skiers that reminds me a bit of the personal flying machine you filmed.) Thanks once again for mentioning Alberto! Sincerely, Elisabeth Waugaman