Once Again, Legislation Is Being Used To Recognize Events In Aviation History

The study of aviation history is a fascinating undertaking because so much has happened in a relatively short time. Whether a professional historian, or someone that just loves aviation and the rich history of those who created what we have today, it appears that the states of Connecticut and Ohio are still going at it through legislating who was the first to fly.

The whole issue started when the State Legislature of Connecticut declared that their favorite son, Gustave Whitehead, made a powered controlled flight prior to Wilbur and Orville Wright. According to Massachusetts, Whitehead was first in 1901.

An Ohio resolution repudiating the claim that Connecticut’s Gustave Whitehead flew before Ohio’s Wright brothers is headed to the senate floor following its passage on last week by a senate committee.

The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee approved House Concurrent Resolution 8 following testimony by Amanda Wright Lane of Cincinnati, great-grandniece of Wilbur and Orville Wright, and others.

Without naming Whitehead, Lane said the “meticulous work” of Wilbur and Orville Wright is supported by a “documented historical record, “while the first-in-flight claims of “others” are not.

“Uncle Orv and Uncle Will were the first to fly a powered, heavier than air flying machine, they were the first to build a flying machine of practical utility, they were the first to sell an aeroplane to the U.S. government and other foreign entities, and they were the first to build a factory that launched the aviation industry,” Lane said.

Lane is also a member of the National Aviation Heritage Alliance’s (NAHA’s) board of trustees.
William Vorys, speaking for the Cleveland-based Ohio Aerospace Institute, also testified in favor of the bill.

“As a leader in aerospace and aviation technology in Ohio, we find it important that aeronautical history be accurate and truthful. We believe there is no evidence that Gustave Whitehead ever designed, built, and flew a successful flying machine,” Vorys said.

Timothy R. Gaffney, NAHA’s director of communications, testified that Connecticut is trying to “rewrite history by legislation.”

The move for the Ohio legislature to pass a bill repudiating Connecticut’s claims for Whitehead being the first to fly has been going on since 2013.

(Image of the original Wright factory which is being restored provided by NAHA)

FMI: www.aviationheritagearea.org