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Old 08-12-2016, 07:40 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,943 posts, read 56,970,098 times
Reputation: 11229

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I know this was talked about before here but we never had a thread dedicated to this. Gustave Whitehead was a Bridgeport/Fairfield businessman and early aeronautical pioneer who supposedly fly a plane in Fairfield 3 years before the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk. The event was reported in the Bridgeport newspapers but because there were no photos taken, the event was not publicized further. There has been an on-going debate about this and questions raised why the Smithsonian Institute does not recognize Whiteheads flights even though there is evidence that he was successful. Sunday marks the 115th anniversary of the flight and the Town of Fairfield has declared it Gustave Whitehead Day. IF anyone is interested there will be a display of a model of Whitehead's plane on display on Sunday and a special program on Saturday at the Fairfield Museum and History Center. Jay

Fairfield Celebrates 'First In Flight' Hometown Hero, Gustave Whitehead | Fairfield Daily Voice
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Old 08-12-2016, 08:33 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
5,104 posts, read 4,837,430 times
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Too bad Fairfield couldn't figure out a way to take advantage of all the Trump rally coverage that will take place this weekend. Maybe have an exhibit at Sacred Heart at the same time.

This could've been YUGE!!! for Gustav
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Old 08-12-2016, 10:56 PM
 
Location: USA
2,753 posts, read 3,314,864 times
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I don't think North Carolina is going to happy changing their license plate motto to "Second in Flight".
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Old 08-13-2016, 04:30 AM
 
Location: Albuquerque
1,899 posts, read 3,510,474 times
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I personally know the man who knows more about this than anybody, Andy Kosch, who's in the middle of that picture. According to Andy if Whitehead did get recognized as the first, the Wright Flyer would go back to the family and there is only one distant relative left. FYI Andy has been a teacher since 1960 and highly respected by the students and faculty.
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Old 08-13-2016, 09:11 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,943 posts, read 56,970,098 times
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Whiteheads home was on Alvin Street on Tunxis Hill. It was a charming but modest craftsman style home but fell into disrepair. A developer bought it and tore it down to build a new house. A lot of neighbors were mad about this and that the town and Historical Society did nothing to stop it. Guess they felt it was not important enough to warrant some effort. Too bad. Jay
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Old 08-13-2016, 02:38 PM
 
79 posts, read 304,179 times
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Whitehead's house was a sharp-looking little craftsman bungalow that almost seemed to embody the idea of flight. It always seemed to me that the developer could have made out a whole lot better if he had restored the place and marketed it as 'Gustave Whitehead's House' than he would have with whatever modest new house he ended up building on that little 50-foot lot. Oh well...
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Old 08-14-2016, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,943 posts, read 56,970,098 times
Reputation: 11229
Quote:
Originally Posted by acornsower View Post
Whitehead's house was a sharp-looking little craftsman bungalow that almost seemed to embody the idea of flight. It always seemed to me that the developer could have made out a whole lot better if he had restored the place and marketed it as 'Gustave Whitehead's House' than he would have with whatever modest new house he ended up building on that little 50-foot lot. Oh well...
It was cute. It was painted orange for years which made it really unique. We called it the pumpkin house. Unfortunately the inside was a mess. The last person that owned it had begun to gut it so it was in tough shape, still it would have been nice to save it. The developer ended up building a typical small transitional colonial that kind of overpowers the tiny lot. Too much of that happening in Fairfield these days. Jay
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