The Wright brothers invented the airplane, right? Not if you're in Brazil

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Competing “first flight” claims

  • Commenters list many national claimants: Wright brothers (US), Santos-Dumont (Brazil), Lilienthal and Grade (Germany), Ader and Blériot (France), Pearse (New Zealand), Mozhaysky (Russia), Whitehead and others.
  • Several note they were taught different “inventors” in school depending on country, mirroring similar disputes for radio, television, computers, X‑rays, etc.

What counts as an airplane / first flight?

  • Key disputed criteria:
    • Powered vs. glider
    • Heavier-than-air
    • Controlled (3‑axis) vs. mere hop
    • Sustained vs. very short distance
    • Takeoff from level ground under own power vs. rail, hill, catapult, headwind.
  • Some argue that if catapults or rails “don’t count,” then many early flights (including Santos-Dumont’s and others) must also be reconsidered.
  • Others insist the Wrights’ 1903 flights did not use catapults and met reasonable powered-flight criteria.

Arguments for Wright priority

  • Supporters emphasize: development of 3‑axis control, understanding of roll and adverse yaw, wind‑tunnel work to fix bad lift data, efficient propeller theory, and a lightweight engine.
  • They stress the Wrights’ exhaustive documentation, witnesses, photographs, and flight distances (kilometers by 1905) versus rivals’ shorter, less-documented hops.
  • Replicas of the Flyer reportedly reproduce the documented performance, which many see as strong evidence.

Arguments for Santos-Dumont and others

  • Brazil-centered view: Santos-Dumont’s public, unaided takeoffs from wheels in 1906–07, prize-winning distances, and “open source” approach.
  • Skeptics question claims that he secretly used Wright-style propellers when Europe allegedly didn’t yet know their work.

Nationalism, education, and narrative

  • Many see these disputes as products of national pride and school curricula: countries prefer “their” inventor.
  • Several argue the “who invented X?” question is often ill-posed: inventions arise from overlapping, incremental work; crediting a single person oversimplifies.

Patents, secrecy, and impact

  • Wrights’ control patents and litigation are said to have slowed later innovation; their secrecy delayed broader recognition, especially in Europe.
  • Broader analogies are drawn to the space race, SpaceX, and the steam engine: timing, funding, politics, and narrative can matter as much as strict priority.