Langley Aerodrome Model Tested

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Summary

With Alexander Graham Bell and several other friends as witnesses, Langley sends up the first aerodrome model from a houseboat on the Potomac. The machine lands safely after flying about a half a mile for 1-1/2 minutes. The following November 28, a larger model travels about three-quarters of a mile. The two flights prove the practicability of mechanical flight and greatly exceed the work of previous experimenters.

Subject

  • Bell, Alexander Graham 1847-1922
  • Langley, S. P (Samuel Pierpont) 1834-1906

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • "Fact Sheet" rev. 7/93 and "The Smithsonian and Flight" rev. 3/93 prepared by the National Air and Space Museum, Office of Public Affairs.
  • Oehser, Paul H. The Smithsonian Institution. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970, p. 50-51
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1896, p. 5-8
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1897, p. 8

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

May 6, 1896

Topic

  • Secretaries
  • Aeronautics
  • Science
  • Experiments
  • Science--Experiments

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