Despite all the confusing and conflicting information on this thread and elsewhere, I accept that the Wrights probably were the first in powered, controlled and sustained flight, but sadly the whole matter is now seen by the general public in terms of:
no-one at all flew, then suddenly out of nowhere the Wrights did.
The reality is that they benefited hugely from a wealth of accumulated experience and wisdom from around the world, were not the first to fly and not the first aloft under power.
By the time of their first flight others were very close, and some of them had a better idea of how to build a plane.
Many inventions, developments and achievements are NOT achieved in a complete vacuum; many have roots in earlier work and some are arrived at by several people.
I certainly do respect the achievements and dedication of the Wrights, but I feel that their Uber-heroic status - particularly in their home country - gives a very, er, warped (!) impression of their aeronautical significance, and it is disturbingly exclusive of the great pioneers and the other close contenders.
I'm an American and I find this very reasonable. I'm sure that much of the history I have been taught has come with a home-field spin. Skepticism relating to that issue is quite healthy.
I wish the "Simplex"es of the world would spend more time teaching me about the rich fabric of other aviation contributors in a positive manner, rather than countless negative posts contending that the Wrights perpetrated lies based on "suspicious" letters.
Thanks for your thoughts.