The Gustav Weisskopf Museum in Leutershausen
Officially, the Wright brothers are credited with the first powered flight in history—which they allegedly completed in 1903. However, this honor belongs more to the US immigrant from Germany, Gustav Weisskopf, who successfully completed a powered flight over a distance of approximately 2.4 kilometers on June 3, 1901, as he himself wrote on January 10, 1902, in his entry for the World's Fair in St. Louis.
Designed by Gustav Weisskopf, "No. 21" possessed all the basic features of modern aircraft, allowing it to take to the skies effortlessly. Gustav Weisskopf acquired the necessary knowledge in his work as a mechanic building weather kites and paragliders. He also had access to technical literature written by other aviation pioneers, from which he drew inspiration.
Notice:
The times in parentheses in the article refer to the Arte documentary at the end of the article. This allows you to quickly find any relevant parts of the film.
The Gustav Weisskopf Museum in Leutershausen (Germany) documents that Gustav Weisskopf made a powered flight as early as 1901, while the Wright brothers did not succeed until 1903.
Anyone who heads to Leutershausen can not only admire a flight-ready replica of the "Condor" or "No. 21" at the Gustav Weisskopf Museum there, but also learn a wealth of facts about its builder, Gustav Weisskopf – a special man and aviation pioneer.
After reading the pictures, texts, graphics, and patent drawings compiled in the museum, one is astonished to discover that the story of the world's first powered flight is grossly distorted and manipulated. Although numerous photos and newspaper articles prove that Gustav Weisskopf was successful in building simple aircraft and engines, opponents – such as one of the Wright brothers, of all people – dispute his achievements.
But the evidence that it was not the Wright brothers who made the first powered flight, but rather Gustav Weisskopf who first flew a powered aircraft, is overwhelming.
Newspaper report in the Bridgeport Sunday Herald about Gustav Weisskopf's flight with "No. 21" on August 14, 1901. The reporter who wrote the article, along with two of Weisskopf's assistants, witnessed Gustav Weisskopf's aircraft take off, fly half a mile, and reach an altitude of 15 meters.
For example, the museum features an old newspaper report from the respected Bridgeport Sunday Herald, which states that on August 14, 1901, Gustav Weisskopf completed a successful flight, reaching a height of 50 feet (approximately 15 meters). The local Bridgeport Sunday Herald reporter's visit to Weisskopf was likely prompted by an article published in June 1901 in the science magazine "The Scientific American," which featured a report on Gustav Weisskopf's "No. 21," prompting other newspapers to report on the matter.
The Bridgeport Sunday Herald reporter also reported that the aircraft was equipped with a motorized wheel drive, allowing Weisskopf to easily pilot "No. 21" to a suitable airfield, where the folded wings were unfolded and preparations for takeoff were made. This wheel drive also helped accelerate the aircraft. To take off, Weisskopf started the second engine for the propeller drive.
The museum documents Gustav Weißkopf's experiments, which he carried out with triplane gliders in 1903.
Several pictures in the museum also document his success in building functional engines. In one picture from 1903, he can be seen with a two-stroke engine he had developed, which produced 12 horsepower and, at 54 pounds (around 25 kilograms), was so light that he could lift it effortlessly.
His engines were highly regarded and were therefore readily used by other aviation pioneers, as he also sold them. Among the buyers was Thomas Scott Baldwin, who in 1904 developed the first steerable airship in the USA and made the first public flight with it on August 3, 1904, as part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
In a newspaper clipping from the Wiener Luftschiffer-Zeitung (Vienna Airship Newspaper) on display in the museum, reporter Artur Boltzmann wrote, among other things, during the World's Fair in St. Louis on September 25, 1904... "Mr. Balduin from San Francisco has set up his workshop in an adjacent shed. The gondola frame of his balloon airship is made of triangular wooden poles. The Whitehead engine from Bridgeport, Conn., U.S.A., is already installed, and only the screw that will be attached to the end of the long shaft remains to be worked on." These facts should have made Orville Wright blush posthumously, given the massive attacks he unjustifiably wrote against Gustav Weisskopf in response to the Reader's Digest article.
On July 1, 1903, The Topeka State Journal celebrated Gustav Weisskopf as "America's Santos Dumont." He was a world-famous aviation pioneer at the time.
It's also important to know that between 1895 and 1897, Gustav Weisskopf found a job as a mechanic at the Boston-based Society for the Promotion of Aeronautics. There, he and engineer Albert Horn built a flapping-wing glider, whose wings could be moved up and down by arm movements. The two mechanics also built a glider for the society based on Otto Lilienthal's model, which Gustav Weisskopf also used to glide. It's also absolutely worth knowing that after moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1899, Gustav Weisskopf found a job at a local steel mill [18:16]. There, he built lightweight engines for his gliders at night. And here's the kicker: By 1899, he had already progressed to the point where he flew an airplane down a street, but unfortunately crashed into a house [18:34]. If this hadn't happened, history books would probably record today that the first powered flight was successful in 1899! There's even a witness to this flight: Stella Randolph, as part of her Weisskopf research, interviewed mechanic Louys Darvarich [19:09], who stated that he was on the plane when Weisskopf flew and crashed into a building! This is further solid proof that Gustav Weisskopf was a genius who mastered both aircraft and engine construction. Orville Wright's claims from 1945 that Weisskopf was incapable of building aircraft engines, but was more of a dreamer, are therefore beyond reproach.
Weisskopf also experimented with a glider featuring folding wings and a wedge-shaped fuselage, which was patented in 1908.
Photograph of the flying machine “No. 21” for registration at the World Exhibition in St. Louis on January 10, 1902.
In contrast, the "evidence" for the Wright brothers' first flight is more than questionable. For example, it wasn't until 1908, a full five years after the alleged first flight in 1903, that a photo was published claiming to show the first flight [26:27]. American design and flight performance engineer Joe Bullmer, who worked for the US Department of Defense, has deemed this photo highly questionable. He refers only to "a leap into the air" and not to a flight. He criticizes the fact that the elevator is fully deployed in the photo, which results in an up-and-down flight followed by an impact with the ground. Therefore, it cannot be considered a successful flight [26:58].
In addition, replicas failed to fly in 2003, and two people even died while trying to get a Wright replica from 1903 into the air [31:31]! No one has ever successfully repeated the Wrights' fourth flight! This alone is strong evidence that the first flight claimed by the Wright brothers in 1903 never took place.
A second photograph, also published in 1908, is the most problematic for Joe Bullmer. It supposedly shows the fourth, decisive flight. However, the propellers are clearly visible in the image, which means they are not rotating! The expert speculates that the aircraft was either on the ground or at most 30 cm from it. It is therefore close to the final position of the flight. The Wright brothers claimed that the aircraft flew 260 meters in 59 seconds. However, measurements showed that the aircraft was only between 91 and 104 meters from the launch point [28:12]!
A helper with the outstretched wing of a flying machine by Gustav Weisskopf. Gustav Weisskopf included a print of this 1902 photograph with his application for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
The scientific magazine "The Scientific American" published a report on Gustav Weisskopf's flying machine "No. 21" in June 1901. Many other newspapers adopted the information, featured illustrations, and provided information about the inventor.
The case of Gustav Weisskopf was quite different: By the 1970s, Stella Randolph had tracked down a total of 17 eyewitnesses who confirmed Weisskopf's flights [41:00]. Among them was Anton Pruckner, who was employed by Gustav Weisskopf and helped him build engines and heavier-than-air machines. He was present and assisted when Weisskopf flew a machine powered by an engine [41:13]!
It is also noteworthy that the replicas of No. 21, both in the USA (No. 21 A) and the example on display in the Gustav Weisskopf Museum (No. 21 B), flew without problems. Evidence of this is provided, for example, by a video recording from 1986 [13:51] and 1998 [Video 2].
In view of the overwhelming facts, the question arises why Smithsonian Institution refuses to recognize Weisskopf as the first aviator.
The scandalous reason is a contract signed behind closed doors in 1948, which only became public in 1978. This contract precisely defines the museum's position regarding who achieved the first powered flight [46:10]. It obligates the museum never to claim that anyone achieved the first powered flight before the Wrights.
It is simply scandalous that a museum is forced by contract to misrepresent the story of the first powered flight, just to gain possession of the original Wright aircraft from 1903.
The contract in full:
Die Übersetzung des Vertrags lautet:
„Weder die Smithsonian Institution noch ihre Nachfolger, noch irgendein Museum oder eine andere Agentur, Behörde oder Einrichtung, die für die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika von der Smithsonian Institution oder ihren Nachfolgern verwaltet wird, darf eine Erklärung oder ein Etikett in Verbindung mit oder in Bezug auf ein Flugzeugmodell oder -design aus einer früheren Zeit als dem Wright-Flugzeug von 1903 veröffentlichen oder deren Anzeige zulassen, in dem behauptet wird, dass ein solches Flugzeug in der Lage war, einen Menschen aus eigener Kraft in einem kontrollierten Flug zu befördern. Die Nichtbeachtung dieser Bedingung durch das Smithsonian führt gemäß Absatz vier des Vertrags zur Rückgabe des „Flyer“ an die Verkäufer.“
The global public expects a museum to tell them who was the first to invent, discover, or build what and when. Anything else is deeply unethical and insulting to all early discoverers.
As it turns out, there is abundant evidence that shows that Gustav Weisskopf alone deserves the honor of being named in history as the first person to take to the skies using a powered aircraft.
Based on this abundant evidence, the US state of Connecticut recognized Gustav Weisskopf as the father of aviation as early as 1968 [12:36], and the 100th edition of the 2013 book IHS Jane's All the World's Aircraft corrected [45:29] that the Wright brothers were not the first to take to the skies in a powered aircraft, but that Weisskopf was the world's first powered aviator!
So it is time for Smithsonian Institution to acknowledge its mistake and make a correction in favor of Gustav Weisskopf, even if this step would mean the loss of the original Wright airplane from 1903.
Addition:
Around 1911, Gustav Weisskopf turned to building a multicopter and built a prototype with 60 lifting propellers. The design is strikingly reminiscent of today's modern drones and air taxis, which also have multiple propellers. The museum even features an original propeller from the aircraft of that time.
