Gustave Whitehead

Gustave Albin Whitehead, born Gustav Albin Weißkopf (January 1, 1874 – October 10, 1927), was a German-American aviation pioneer.

Experiments in Flight

In the year 1897 on behalf of the Aeronautical Club of Boston, Whitehead was hired by publisher J. B. Millet to build and fly sailplanes. He built several sailplanes, of which one was inspired by the Lilienthal glider. This sailplane actually took off from the ground for short distances. Albert B. C. Horn, an assistant, wrote: "A lightweight would have flown further than Whitehead...". (Referring to the fact that Whitehead was a big and heavy man.)

On August 14, 1901 in Connecticut Whitehead reportedly flew his Number 21 800m at 15m height, according to articles in the Bridgeport Herald, the New York Herald and the Boston Transcript. (See References below for a link to the full article.) No photographs were taken, but a sketch of the plane in the air was made by Dick Howell of the Bridgeport Herald, who was present. If true, this flight would precede the Wright brothers' Kitty Hawk, NC flight by over two years.

According to some witness reports, Whitehead flew about 1km (half a mile) as early as 1899. In January 1902 he supposedly flew 10km (7 miles) over the Long Island strait in the improved Number 22.

Since none of Whitehead's flights were well recorded and no photographs remain, it is very difficult to substantiate many of these reports. In particular, the Smithsonian Institute strongly denies that controlled, powered flight occurred before 1903. In addition, the original Bridgeport Herald article is filled with many difficult-to-believe claims about the event, and contradicts a number of other eyewitness reports. Whitehead never later reproduced his powered flights so that they could be better-documented, and his claim is dismissed as a non-controlled flight just like that of another aviation pioneer, Karl Jatho. Nevertheless, the Connecticut state legislature has officially recognized Whitehead's claim.

Whitehead's Planes

Whitehead's Number 21 was a racy-looking monoplane with a wingspan of 36 feet (11 meters). The wings constructed of silk, ribbed with bamboo, supported by steel wires and modelled after the shape of a soaring bird's wing. The plane was powered by two engines: a ground engine of 10 hp (7.5 kW), which propelled the wheels of the plane to reach take-off speed, and a 20 hp (15 kW) acetylene engine powering two propellers to maintain speed in flight. The two propellers were designed to counter-rotate for stability.

The use of powered wheels meant that Whitehead did not have to use a catapult nor a strong head wind like the Wright brothers. The plane started from a flat surface and landed at another flat surface or in water. During flight, roll was controlled by the pilot shifting his weight, much as on a glider as well as wing warping; pitch was controlled by a tail wing; and yaw was controlled by differing the thrust between the two propellers.

The later Number 22 plane differed from the Number 21 by having a 40 hp (30 kW) kerosene engine.

Later Work

Whitehead worked on motors which he sold with very little profit; he did not know enough about business practises and patents to create a successful business. However, various other aviation pioneers expressed interest in his engine designs. Many years later, a witness claimed the Wright brothers visited Whitehead to discuss the purchase of one of his engines and exchanged ideas and discoveries regarding flight, although no documentary evidence attributed to the Wrights corroborates this visit. Whitehead sold motors to Glenn Curtiss.

Around 1911, Whitehead worked on designs for a helicopter with little success.

Modern Replicas

In order to lend support to the idea that Whitehead was able to fly the Number 21 in 1901, some US enthusiasts in 1985 began to construct a replica of Whitehead's machine but with modern lightweight engines. On December 29, 1986 Andrew Kosch made 20 flights and reached a maximum distance of 100 meters (330 feet). On February 18, 1998 a German replica flew distances up to 500 meters.

References

Popular Aviation (1937) and Bridgeport Herald (1901) articles on Whitehead

External links

1874 births | 1927 deaths | Aerospace engineers | Aviation pioneers | German inventors