when the aircraft reached the end of the takeoff track it was how high in the air?
The plane is below the level of the point where it left the ground.
The speed of the headwind was 22 miles/hour = 35 km/h, (see: L'Aerophile, January 1904,
L'Aιrophile (Paris) ). At such a strong wind, blowing along the slope, uphill, the plane received a considerable lift.
Without engine and propellers Flyer I would have taken off and glided a long distance!!
Just because the propellers were running it does not mean they generated enough thrust.
A power assisted descent is not a real powered flight.
the wright brothers aren't remembered as the fathers of flight because they were the first to fly. they weren't. but they were the first to perfect controllable flight.
all subsequent aviation became possible because flight in the air could be controlled.
The Wright brothers are claimed as the first to fly. There is no other inventor that can seriously pretend he flew a powered plane before Dec. 17, 1903.
Regarding the priority of the Wright brothers, in being the first to perfect controllable flight, this is the most ridiculous claim aviation history books have perpetuated. "Flyer I 1903" was incredibly unstable as a few aviation experts have noticed:
Piloting "Flyer I 1903" is "like balancing a yardstick on one finger, two at one time. If you lose it, it goes quickly, said Fred Culick
"
(1)"EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Aviation experts
have found the Wright stuff in the hands of modern pilots
is a little wrong."
(2)"I'd say it was almost a miracle they were able to fly it, said Jack Cherne"
(3)"Using that data, they created a computer flight simulator that shows the plane to be so unstable, it is nearly impossible to fly."
(4)"It's like balancing a yardstick on one finger, two at one time. If you lose it, it goes quickly, said Fred Culick
"
(5)"Every pilot, his first try, crashed the simulator. It took less than a second, said Capt. Tim Jorris".
(6)"I thoroughly cannot imagine the Wright brothers, having very little experience in powered aircraft, getting this airborne and flying, said Major Mike Jansen. "My respect for what they did went up immediately the first time I took the controls.""
(7)"Modifications will include
. A computer feedback system will assist the pilot. We want the experience, but we don't want to kill ourselves, Cherne said."
see:
USATODAY.com - Wright Flyer a handful for today's pilots
The 2003 replica of "Flyer I 1903" couldn't fly more than 115 feet (35 m)
The 2003 accurate replica of the Wright brothers' plane (tested on December 17, 1903) was not able to do more than short flights (using a more powerful engine than the original). None of its takeoffs came close to the claimed 852 feet, 59 seconds best flight performed on December 17, 1903. What the 2003 experiment really showed was that the 1903 airplane could have been theoretically able to take off and fly chaotically for 100 - 115 feet, no more. "Flyer I" was uncontrollable and not capable to execute a sustained 59 sec. flight.
1) "
On November 20, 2003, Dr. Kevin Kochersberger piloted the 1903 Wright Experience Replica Flyer. With 15-18 mph winds he flew a distance of nearly 100 feet."
see video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1mscspl-VU
2) "
December 3, 2003 test flight of the Wright Experience 1903 Wright Flyer Replica. Dr. Kevin Kochersberger was at the controls and piloted the Flyer for a distance of 115 feet. Slight cross wind after initial rotation which is compensated with slight wing warp."
see video:
People (ex., Henri Farman) flew stably, in close circuit, for about 19 minutes, without Wing Warping or any kind of aileron, before Aug. 8, 1908 the day when the Wright brothers showed their plane and performed their first public flight (1 min and 45 sec). All the things the Wright brothers claimed as their invention, in the patent they finally got on May 22, 1906, were simply non essential for stable flight or controlling the trajectory of planes.