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Home | Update | LATEST ISSUE | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 5/98 WRIGHT OR WHITEHEAD? - NO. 21B FLIES by Christopher Hess For years, Gustav Whitehead's followers have fought for the acknowledgement of the German-born American as one of the pioneers of aviation. A reconstruction of his legendary flying machine No. 21 has now successfully accomplished a comprehensive flight test program. When the reconstruction, designated No. 21B, took off on February 20, 1998, the Gustav Whitehead historic flight supporters group, (FFGW), was once more convinced: Gustav Whitehead, who was born in Leutershausen, Germany, is the true pioneer of powered flight. Supposedly, Whitehead accomplished the first powered flight in history near Bridgeport, Connecticut, on 14 August 1901 - over two and a half years before the Wright Brothers succeeded with their historically confirmed first flight. Unfortunately, Whitehead's first flight is not documented, proving that the flight actually took place. Furthermore, there are no photos to ascertain that this and other alleged flights of Gustav Weisskopf, as he is called in Germany, really occured. The potentially historic flight was only confirmed later in the thirties by various eyewitness reports. This explains why, to date, there is no final proof that the Wright Brothers were not the real flight pioneers after all. As early as the mid-eighties members of the research group have tried to back up the premise of Gustav Whitehead's first powered flight by reconstructing and flying the legendary flying machine No. 21. However, all they had to go on were photos of the plane on the ground and a few notes. In December 1986 they succeeded in flying over a distance of roughly 100 meters, keeping the flying machine at a height of three meters. Unfortunately the tests had to be abandoned after a crash. With a lot of effort the research group from Whitehead's birth place in Leutershausen, Germany, has managed, in the last six years, to build an even more faithful replica of No. 21. After innumerable drag cart trials and car tow flights No. 21B made its maiden powered flight on 12 September, 1997, in Manching, Germany. The plane, with testpilot Horst Philip at the controls, covered a distance of 230 meters. The craft is steered by linking the back edges of the wings and by bending the bird's tail-shaped empenage (no vertical fin). No. 21B is powered by two counter-rotating two-stroke engines, each with approximately 20 hp of power. According to the FFGW, the original No. 21 was driven by three acetyl engines with 10 hp each, which Weißkopf supposedly had designed specifically for this application. One of these engines allegedly drove the rear wheels and the other two were turning the two propellers. FFGW had originally planned to use these engines with the reconstructed aircraft too. However, the project of reconstructing the engines had come to a halt due to lack of funds. During the recent test flight program, which lasted five months, No. 21B accomplished many more flights. The longest flight covered a distance of 500 meters, reaching a height of approximately six meters. "The very first powered flight" made the headlines in many papers a day after its final flight and its public presentation in February of this year. However, even if these recent experiments cannot be regarded as conclusive evidence to prove that Gustav Whitehead really succeeded with the first powered flight, the researchers are more convinced than ever that the original No. 21 had the potential for controlled flights. As of now, No. 21B will be displayed at this year's ILA in Berlin. From July, the flying machine will be part of a permanent exhibition at the Flight Pioneer Gustav Weißkopf Museum in Leutershausen, Germany. From page 78 of FLUG REVUE 5/98 Home | Update | LATEST ISSUE | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 5/98 Copyright 1998 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated April 7, 1998 FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany