Evening star., 1933-12-30
Country to Welcome Plane
That Started Air Progress

National satisfaction is expressed that
the celebration Of the thirtieth ami
versary Of the achievement Of the
Wright brothers In creating a plane
| that would fly and carry a human
should be the occasion for the settle
ment of an old controversy. An agree
ment has been reached between the
Smithsonian Institution and the sur
viving Wright by which the original
plane will be returned from London to
the Washington institution, if Col Lind
bergh, as arbitrator, makes satisfactory
terms. No doubt is felt that the colonel
will make the transfer a possibility.
1T Is quite proper" thinks the st.
Louis Globe-Democrat, and mark of
justice to its inventors, that the first
powered airplane to carry a man in
free flight aloft be brought back to
America, where 1t was created and take
its place among its kind for what it
is" That paper recalls that it was
removed to the Science Museum in
South kensington, London, at the
states that the settlement proposed in
wolves labels for the Langley exhibits,
connected with an uncompleted flight,
which are suited to Mr. Wrights stand
The Globe-Democrat offers the expla-
nation: 1.-THE discussion that waxed
and grew heated surrounded the rela-
tive merits of the original Wright plane
and the Langley aerodrome' and their
priority in the field of practical avia-
ton. Descriptive labels displayed on
the Langley invention did not suit the
surviving Wright nor did their revision
pioneering flight of the Wright plane
and its performance of carrying a man
with it in that pioneering flight was
involved by the labelling Of the Langley
machine that was built in model and
flew in model as early as 1896 and that
was rebuilt in size capable of carrying
man. This last plane failed in its
flight tests in 1903 before the Wright
plane was made to fly the same year.
Mr.. Langley. who for many years had
been secretary of the Smithsonian In
stitution, died three years later and his
plane was not flown until 1914. after,
Mr.. Wright claims, fundamental changes
had been made in its structure"
THE controversy has always been an
unfortunate one" says the Roanoke
World-News. "and has been much mis-
understood" The Roanoke paper gives
the detail Of the original rivalry with
the statement; "Langley's machine
made short hop and fell into the
Potomac, wright's machine made a
slightly longer hop with one of the
brothers and then a distinctly longer
hop across sand dunes with the other.
With all due credit to Langley for his
really valuable calculations that con-
tributed inestimably to the initial
flights of 80 years ago, it is now ac-
cepted that the Wright brothers made
the first completed, successful flight.
Langley went up, but fell into the river
They went up and came down without
great damage to themselves or their
ship. The verdict of time is that the
first machine-powered airplane, capable
OF carrying pilot in flight, was that
built by the Wrights and flown at Kitty
Hawk. It is the most treasured relic
Of aviation and should by all means be
in the National Museum of the country
In which 1t was built. Devotion to the
services Of langley caused the Smith
soniah to be slow to recognize the real
achievement of the Wrights and as a
result their initial plane was sent
abroad"
"By a queer and regrettable turn Of
fate" according to the Long Beach
Press Telegram, "the governments of
Europe paid more attention than their
own country to the achievement of
tthe Wright brothers and after the