Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The First Flight... According to Connecticut----------- Gustave Whitehead
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The First Flight... According to Connecticut----------- Gustave Whitehead
This is the story that keeps the Wright Brothers’ estate up at night—a tale of a "Condor" in the night and a secret agreement that might be holding history hostage.
Two years, four months, and three days. That is how much time allegedly separates a quiet field in Fairfield, Connecticut, from the famous dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
In this episode of And That’s What You Didn’t Know, we investigate the "phantom" flight of Gustave Whitehead. While the world celebrates December 1903, the residents of Bridgeport point to August 14, 1901. On that night, witnesses say a German immigrant rolled a bat-winged machine called the "Condor" (No. 21) out into the darkness.
The Condor was a marvel of strange engineering. It had two engines—one for the wheels so it could drive down the road like a car, and another for the propellers. According to an eyewitness reporter from the Bridgeport Sunday Herald, Whitehead soared 50 feet into the air and traveled half a mile before gently setting down.
So why isn't his name in the history books? We dive into the "Smithsonian Conspiracy"—a legal contract that states the museum will lose the Wright Flyer if they ever acknowledge any other man as the first to fly.
Discover the man who may have conquered the sky while the Wrights were still fixing bicycles, and why the "first" in flight depends entirely on who you ask.
Primary Keywords: Gustave Whitehead, No. 21 Condor, First Flight Controversy, Bridgeport Sunday Herald 1901, Wright Brothers vs Whitehead.
Secondary Keywords: Aviation history mysteries, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft Whitehead, Smithsonian Wright Flyer agreement, Early flight pioneers, Connecticut aviation.
To see the lithographs and the debate that still rages in state legislatures, explore these sources:
Smithsonian Institution: The official (and controversial) stance on the Whitehead claims.
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft: The 2013 editorial that shocked the world by siding with Whitehead.
History.com: A breakdown of the evidence for and against the 1901 flight.
Connecticut Air & Space Center: The 1986 replica of the No. 21 that actually took to the air.
"In the history of flight, the truth is often as thin as a wing's fabric. If you think the sky has room for more than two brothers, please Follow and Review us on Spotify. We’re digging up the 'lost' pioneers of the modern world."
Whitehead: The First to Fly?
This video explores the 125-year-old dispute and the evidence supporters use to claim Whitehead beat the Wright brothers to the sky.
View all episodes
By AdamThis is the story that keeps the Wright Brothers’ estate up at night—a tale of a "Condor" in the night and a secret agreement that might be holding history hostage.
Two years, four months, and three days. That is how much time allegedly separates a quiet field in Fairfield, Connecticut, from the famous dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
In this episode of And That’s What You Didn’t Know, we investigate the "phantom" flight of Gustave Whitehead. While the world celebrates December 1903, the residents of Bridgeport point to August 14, 1901. On that night, witnesses say a German immigrant rolled a bat-winged machine called the "Condor" (No. 21) out into the darkness.
The Condor was a marvel of strange engineering. It had two engines—one for the wheels so it could drive down the road like a car, and another for the propellers. According to an eyewitness reporter from the Bridgeport Sunday Herald, Whitehead soared 50 feet into the air and traveled half a mile before gently setting down.
So why isn't his name in the history books? We dive into the "Smithsonian Conspiracy"—a legal contract that states the museum will lose the Wright Flyer if they ever acknowledge any other man as the first to fly.
Discover the man who may have conquered the sky while the Wrights were still fixing bicycles, and why the "first" in flight depends entirely on who you ask.
Primary Keywords: Gustave Whitehead, No. 21 Condor, First Flight Controversy, Bridgeport Sunday Herald 1901, Wright Brothers vs Whitehead.
Secondary Keywords: Aviation history mysteries, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft Whitehead, Smithsonian Wright Flyer agreement, Early flight pioneers, Connecticut aviation.
To see the lithographs and the debate that still rages in state legislatures, explore these sources:
Smithsonian Institution: The official (and controversial) stance on the Whitehead claims.
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft: The 2013 editorial that shocked the world by siding with Whitehead.
History.com: A breakdown of the evidence for and against the 1901 flight.
Connecticut Air & Space Center: The 1986 replica of the No. 21 that actually took to the air.
"In the history of flight, the truth is often as thin as a wing's fabric. If you think the sky has room for more than two brothers, please Follow and Review us on Spotify. We’re digging up the 'lost' pioneers of the modern world."
Whitehead: The First to Fly?
This video explores the 125-year-old dispute and the evidence supporters use to claim Whitehead beat the Wright brothers to the sky.