Art, KB9MZ wrote:
"What do you mean by that Richard?"

The Wrights were the first to sustain powered flight. That means the
first practical airplane.

It wasn`t really Ernest and Julio Gallo that first got Americans to fly.
It was the Wright Brothers. The Wrights were already accomplished
mechanical designers and bicycle manufacturers. They collected and
studied all the information on flight they could get from around the
world and analyzed it for flaws to avoid in their own work. They
designed a new aluminum engine from the ground up to avoid overloading
their new flying machine. These guys were serious and practical
scientists and engineers.

This all happened 100 years ago. After the prototype flew, the Wrights
went into production on air frames and engines. Many WW-2 aircraft were
powered by "Wright Cyclone Engines".

One of the original Wright engines was owned by a California collector.
When a replica of the original Wright Flyer was recently built from the
original plans and specifications, the nearly 100 year old engine was
obtained from the collector, bolted into the new-old airframe and the
engine worked very well in powered flight of the replica. The builders
of the replica tested it on the ground for thrust the same as the Wright
brothers had. When the plane flew it was just like old times.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI