Welcome to On Verticality. This blog explores the innate human need to escape the surface of the earth, and our struggles to do so throughout history. If you’re new here, a good place to start is the Theory of Verticality section or the Introduction to Verticality. If you want to receive updates on what’s new with the blog, you can use the Subscribe page to sign up. Thanks for visiting!
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Gustave Whitehead’s Flying Machines
Gustave Whitehead was a German-born aviation pioneer that emigrated to the United States in 1893. He subsequently built and tested a number of flying machines, and some believe he achieved the first ever powered, controlled flight. As with most claims of this nature, it’s a difficult thing to prove and will most likely always have controversy surrounding it. Because of this, his machines and the alleged flights they took have a sense of mystery about them. To add to this mystery, Whitehead experimented with many different types of machines, including both manned and unmanned machines and both gliders and self-powered machines.