I accept that I was being a bit grumpy, and accept also that the article was intended for a general readership, but given that it was in the Observer, and not the Mail on Sunday, it could have been a bit more careful and accurate in its descriptions of the flying. As for the Wright Flyer, I am not advocating a return to wing-warping (except on slab wing Cherokees, as it might make them turn quicker), but my point is that the author seemed regrettably ignorant of aviation history for somone who professed a lifelong passion for aviation. Still, maybe he was right to regard canards as dead ends, at least if Eurofighters are anything to go by (just kidding).
PS: mega-pedantry: I seem to recall that the Wrights may have referred to the sticky out thing at the front as a rudder, at least initially, so maybe the guy knows more than he lets on.
[This message has been edited by FNG (edited 09 January 2001).]