I looked up the synonyms for glide. remember folks, flying as we know it today did not have the terms we use today.
one of the synonyms for glide is: FLY
another: WING
so, if someone said : glide , he could have meant FLY, like we use the term today.
AS someone who dealt with many famous news organizations I can tell you that even today, some of the stuff is just made up. AND imagine, how would someone (a reporter/writer) know what to write to describe flight, in 1903?
Quick Jimmy, write something about the wrights and their flying machine. we have to have it ready for the type setter in 10 minutes.
In 1903 the aviation reporters of the day were even more poorly informed than Richard Quest is today!
THE WRIGHTS invented and perfected 3 axis control with rudder countering the effect of wing warp drag. this was the key to the turn. cannonballs have been flying pretty straight for years before the wrights, but they really couldn't do a 360, now could they? The WRIGHTS taught the world to fly airplanes.
Orville wright was given pilot license number1
His godson, Bob Cummings (whom orville taught to fly( became the first licensed flight instructor in the USA
Courts gave the wrights the patent after lengthy hearing. Don't you think that someone on curtiss's side would have found people to prove the wright's hadn't flown?
AND THEY WOULD HAVE DONE IT THEN, not 30 years later, or 100 years later.