![]() The flight collection itself began with 20 Chinese kites that had been displayed at the 1876 American Centennial Exposition. Secretary Langley’s Aerodrome A is also preserved the collection, along with hundreds of aircraft, spacecraft and related artifacts. Their letter is now exhibited near the original Wright Flyer, one the most famous artifacts in the Institution’s collection. Interestingly, the Smithsonian’s aeronautical reputation was such that the Wright brothers had written to the Institution in 1899 to request information on flight. 17, 1903, the day Orville and Wilbur Wright made history at Kitty Hawk. His Aerodrome A failed for the second time after it was launched from a houseboat on the Potomac just nine days shy of Dec. ![]() Langley, also a physicist as well as an astronomer and inventor, worked to create the world’s first powered, human-carrying aircraft during his tenure. The Institution’s third Secretary, Thomas P. Lowe, for example, occurred in 1861 outside the Institution’s original building, the “Castle.” Joseph Henry, a physicist and balloon enthusiast who served as first Secretary of the Smithsonian, invited Lowe to demonstrate his aircraft, which led to the birth of aerial reconnaissance during the Civil War. ![]() ![]() ![]() The display of a hot air balloon designed for military use by Thaddeus S.C. The Smithsonian’s connection to flight dates from its earliest years. Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art. ![]()
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