Quest for flight [electronic resource] : John J. Montgomery and the dawn of aviation in the West / by Craig S. Harwood and Gary B. Fogel.

9780806187815 electronic book
0806142642 paperback
9780806142647 paperback

Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, c2012.

English

1 online resource (xiii, 241 p.) : ill.

TL540.M62 H37 2012eb

The Wright brothers have long received the lion's share of credit for inventing the airplane. But a California scientist succeeded in flying gliders twenty years before the Wright's powered flights at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Quest for Flight reveals the amazing accomplishments of John J. Montgomery, a prolific inventor who piloted the glider he designed in 1883 in the first controlled flights of a heavier-than-air craft in the Western Hemisphere. Re-examining the history of American aviation, Craig S. Harwood and Gary B. Fogel present the story of human efforts to take to the skies. They show that history's nearly exclusive focus on two brothers resulted from a lengthy public campaign the Wrights waged to profit from their aeroplane patent and create a monopoly in aviation. Countering the aspersions cast on Montgomery and his work, Harwood and Fogel build a solidly documented case for Montgomery's pioneering role in aeronautical innovation.--From publisher description.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on print version record.

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