September 2018 Auction Ends Thursday, September 27th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/27/2018
Orville Wright typed letter signed regarding the 1908 Wright Flyer, the bi-plane that made global celebrities of the Wright Brothers. Wright also pokes fun at a Harvard astronomer, William H. Pickering, who wrote in 1910 that there was ''no hope'' that planes would ever go faster than locomotives or automobiles. Composed on his personal letterhead from Dayton, Ohio, Wright writes to reporter Earl Findley on 20 January 1932, showcasing his technical knowledge as well as his witty humor. In full, ''Your 'IMPORTANT -- MOST IMPORTANT' letter of January 15th was received in Monday's morning mail. Uncle Sam takes a vacation Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I was busy all day Monday with Dr. Lewis, Mr. Ide and some New York lawyers. Yesterday -- I don't know what I did. Well, this is a pretty prompt answer, anyway. / If Pickering had been considering an airship when he stated that 'the resistance of the air increases as the square of the speed and the work as the cube' he would have been right. His statement is equally true of what is called 'parasite resistance' in flying machines, but it is not true of the resistance of the wings. In our 1908 flying machine, to which he was evidently referring, the parasite resistance at 40 mile an hour was only 27 per cent. of the total resistance of the machine. Seventy-three per cent. of the resistance was consumed by the planes to which his formula did not apply. / In 'Navigating the Air', you put out by the Aero Club of America in 1907, was an article entitled 'The Relations of Weight, Speed and Power of Flyers, by Wilbur and Orville Wright'. I wrote the article, so it should not be trusted too far. I estimated there that a machine with a total weight of 750 pounds should require only 60 to 75 h.p. for a speed of 120 miles per hour. In spite of my knowing who was the author of that prediction I still think it better than Pickering's. Another great astronomer, Simon Newcomb, also made predictions. (See U.S. Air Service, Jan. 1923, p. 39). Astronomers seem to be given to rash predictions...[signed] Orville Wright''. Single page measures 7.25'' x 10.5''. Near fine condition.
Orville Wright Letter Signed Regarding the 1908 Flyer & a Harvard Astronomer's Prediction That Planes Would Never Surpass Cars in Speed -- ''...Astronomers seem to be given to rash predictions...''
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