Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Single-seat light experimental aircraft

Power Plant:

One 15 kw (20 hp) engine

Specifications:

History:

Gustave Whitehead, as he was known in the United States (born Gustav Albin Weisskopf on 1 January 1874 in Leutershausen in Bavaria) was born and raised in Germany and was trained in Augsburg as an engine builder.  In 1890 he decided to leave Germany and travel to the United States but on the way met another family which was emigrating to Brazil and travelled with them.  In 1893 he travelled to the United States where in 1895 he formed the Boston Aeronautical Society.  He was interested in aviation and flying and over the years his story has become embroiled in the “who flew first debate”.

Whitehead designed and built a number of gliders along the lines of those designed by Otto Lilienthal, and flying machines and engines for some of the aircraft, but some controversy has been involved with his claims to have flown a powered aircraft successfully several times in 1901 and 1902, these claimed flights having occurred before the Wright Brothers.  One of his claims appeared in a newspaper report on 14 August 1901 in the State of Connecticut, this report being published in other papers around the world.  Some aircraft designs and experiments were referred to in the Scientific American magazine in 1904.  However, Whitehead passed away on 10 October 1927 and no photos are known to be available of him making flight.

Since then many articles have been written about his claims and much investigation has been carried out, some rejecting his claims and others supporting his claims.  A number of replicas of his No 21 Monoplane have been built in the United States and Germany and have been flown using modern engines, more modern construction, and re-designed propellers.  He claimed he flew an unmanned aircraft on 3 May 1901 to an altitude of 12 to 15 metres (40 to 50 ft) for a distance of 201 metres (659 ft).

On 14 August 1901 an article in the Bridgeport Herald in Connecticut stated Whitehead at Fairfield piloted his No 21 Monoplane in a controlled powered flight for approximately 805 metres (2,640 ft), the flight lasting up to one-and-a-half minutes, but ended with the aircraft crashing into a tree.  Eye-witnesses were reported to be his financial backers and assistants.  Further reports followed in later months relating to further flights being made, one flight being a distance of 305 metres (1,000 ft).

Whitehead moved on to his No 22 Monoplane which had a 30 kw (40 hp) engine and, unlike the No 21, which was built of bamboo, the No 22 was built from aluminium for the framework. Flights were said to have been made in 1902 over Long Island Sound with one being 3.2 km (2 miles) and a second of 11 km (7 miles) at heights up to 61 metres (200 ft).  Having a boat like fuselage, the aircraft landed on the water near the shore.  One report stated Whitehead built “fifty-six airplanes”.

No 21 Monoplane had a framework of bamboo supported by steel wires, and the wings were able to be folded.  It was powered by two engines, one of 7.5 kw (10 hp) intended to drive the front wheels to reach take-off speed and another, an acetyline unit, providing 15 kw (20 hp) driving two propellers which were counter rotating.

Whitehead over the years up until his demise continued to design and build aircraft and engines. In 1908 designed and built a lightweight two-cycle engine which produced 56 kw (75 hp).  He formed Whitehead Motor Works with offices in New York and Bridgeport and built a range of motors.  One engine was installed in a helicopter built by Charles Wittemann.

A replica of the No 21, known as the No 21A, was built in 1986 in the United States. This aircraft made 20 flights covering distances of up to 100 metres (330 ft) and was placed on display at the EAA event at Oshkosh in Wisconsin, USA.  Another replica was built in Germany and was flown 500 metres (1,600 ft) but it was stated that this was not proof that the original actually flew as this replica was constructed from fibreglass and had a modern aircraft engine.  The State of Connecticut announced that it recognised that Whitehead was the first person to achieve powered flight.  A replica of the No 21 has been built and placed on display at the TAVAS Museum at Caboolture in Queensland.