title: Geonemini

text:
Geonemini is a weevil tribe in the subfamily Entiminae.

Taxonomy
The tribe Geonemini was first named by Gistel in 1856 (p. 373).

Genera
There are 40 genera currently placed in Geonemini:

 Anomadus Horn, 1876: 21: Mexico.
 Anomonychus Faust, 1893: 298: Algeria.
 Apotomoderes Dejean, 1834: 253: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mona.
 Artipus Sahlberg, 1823: 22: Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Mona, Pinos I., Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy; SE United States (Florida); Oligocene (USA) (?).
 Barynotellus Voss, 1962: 283: Tanzania.
 Barynotus Germar, 1817: 341: Europe; E, W Canada (I), NE United States (I).
 Bradyrhynchoides Pierce, 1913: 412: Mexico; SW United States (Texas).
 Bufomicrus Sharp, 1891: 102 : Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua.
 Calyptillus Horn, 1876: 27: NC, SW United States.
 Claeoteges Pascoe, 1880: 427: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama.
 Cleistolophus Sharp, 1891: 102 : Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua.
 Compsonomus Jekel, 1875: 138  = Eugeonemus Buchanan, 1947: 44: Cuba, Haiti.
 Cryptolepidus Van Dyke, 1936: 191: Mexico; NW, SW United States.
 Cychrotonus Pascoe, 1871: 162: Angola; Botswana, Tanzania, Zaire.
 Decasticha Champion, 1911b: 273: Costa Rica, Panama.
 Doleropus Buchanan, 1947: 46: Cuba.
 Epicaerus Schönherr, 1834: 323: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama; NC, NE, NW, SE, SW United States; Oligocene (USA).
 Eumestorus Sharp, 1891: 102: Belize, Mexico.
 Geonemus Schönherr, 1833: 13: S France, Spain, Balearic Is., Algeria, Morocco.
 Graphorhinus Say, 1831: 8: NC, SW United States.
 Heteroschoinus Schönherr, 1847: 42: S Africa.
 Ischionoplus Chevrolat, 1878: IX: Cuba, Dominican Republic.
 Kosmimodes Setliff, 2019: 851: Dominican Republic.
 Lachnopus Schönherr, 1840: 380: Anguilla, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Mona, Nevis, Puerto Rico, St. Barthélemy, St. Croix, Sint Eustatius, Saint Kitts, St. Thomas, Saint Vincent, Tortola; SE United States; Miocene (USA).
 Lyperobates Broun, 1893: 1461: New Zealand.
 Maseorhynchus Sharp, 1891: 102: Belize, Guatemala, Mexico.
 Mazenes Champion, 1911: 280: Guatemala, Mexico.
 Melathra Franz, 2011: 353: Dominican Republic.
 Naupactopsis Champion, 1911: 278: Mexico.
 Omileus Horn, 1876: 102: Mexico; SW United States; Miocene (USA).
 Plenaschopsis Blaisdell, 1925: 341: Mexico.
 Prosayleus Schönherr, 1840: 840: Australia.
 Pseudomelactus Heller, 1916: 312: New Caledonia.
 Pycnophilus Sharp, 1891: 166: Costa Rica.
 Scelianoma Franz & Girón, 2009: 220: Puerto Rico.
 Sciorhinus Sharp, 1891: 102: Mexico.
 Stamoderes Casey, 1888: 236: W Canada, NW, SW United States.
 Stereogaster Van Dyke, 1936b: 84: SW United States.
 Tenillus Scudder, 1893: 35: (+) Oligocene (USA)
 Trigonoscuta Motschulsky, 1853: 79: Mexico; W Canada, NW, SW United States; Miocene (USA).

References

External links

Entiminae


title: Na Maloom Afraad

text:
Na Maloom Afraad (lit. Unidentified People), is a 2014 Pakistani action comedy film co-written and directed by Nabeel Qureshi in his directorial debut. It stars Javed Sheikh, Fahad Mustafa, Mohsin Abbas Haider with supporting cast of Urwa Hocane, Kubra Khan and Salman Shahid. The story follows Shakeel (Sheikh), Farhaan (Mustafa) and Moon (Haider), three poor struggling individuals who chase every possible means of becoming rich, all getting into trouble as they struggle to fulfill their desires and ambitions through questionably moral ways.

Most of the Na Maloom Afrad shots were filmed in real locations of Saddar Town, maintaining the authenticity of scenes and staying true to actual content; many elements of post-production required consideration before principal photography. The script was written years before the shooting, the cast went through meticulous rehearsals, and it became one of the few films that are developed completely in Pakistan. The film was shot in Karachi during January 2014 with a budget of  jointly franchised by Hum Films, Filmwala Pictures and Eveready Pictures. It premiered the following year in November where it closed the South Asian International Film Festival 2014.

Na Maloom Afraad had a wide theatrical release in Pakistan on 6 October 2014 at Eid al-adha, followed by a release in UK on 22 May 2015  which has grossed  worldwide. The film garnered wide critical praise. At 3rd Hum Awards film was awarded Hum Honorary Special Recognition Award to Nabeel and Fizza. The film became the most nominated film of the Lux's 14th annual awards ceremony in the film section with a total of seven nominations in four categories, ultimately winning Best Film for Fizza, Best Director for Nabeel and Best Actor for Javed.

It became first Pakistani film since 2007 to make the milestone of longest running film for 165 days (22 weeks) breaking the record of Waar who previously held for 163 days.
A sequel titled Na Maloom Afraad 2 was released on 2 September 2017 which collected  at the box office and became the second highest-grossing film of 2017.

Plot
Farhan (Fahad Mustafa), is a sales representative at IFU life insurance company in Karachi and is fired after he fails to materialize any deal in a year. Moon (Mohsin Abbas Haider), who hails from Punjab (Faisalabad), has a dream of going to Dubai, but ends up coming to Karachi while his family continues to believe he is living in Dubai.  And Shakeel bhai (Javed Shaikh), an honest man who works as a government servant and owner of homemade pickle business 'Shama Achar' is under pressure to get his younger sister Naina (Urwa Hocane) married, but can't due to financial constraints. Farhan is a paying-guest of Shakeel and is in love with his sister.

Moon becomes the new tenant of Shakeel, after getting kicked out by his landlady (Shehnaz Pervaiz) for not paying rent on time. Jobless, Farhan and Moon come up with a plan to take a life insurance to open an account in a bank and then burn it in Karachi strike, posing as 'Na Maloom Afraad', so that they claim desired amount of money in the claim from insurance company. Meanwhile, a proposal comes for Naina and they ask for a car as dowry; devastated with his situation Shakeel goes to break his fixed deposit, but  realizes that he had already withdrawn it in 1998 for his mother's (Zaheen Tahira) operation. Thinking of mortgaging his home, it's revealed to Shakeel that the government has given them a one-month notice for leaving their houses due to bridge construction over the area. With all these difficulties, Shakeel tries to commit suicide but is saved by the police. Both Moon and Farhan reveal their plan to Shakeel, of which first he refused to part of, but due to his problems he reluctantly agrees. Farhan goes to Gogi (Salman Shahid) a local mobster, to borrow money for their plan. Gogi gives him three lacs, which Farhan agrees to return with interest of six lacs. Shakeel and Farhan, posing as husband and wife, open an account with the bank and they get robbed.  Moon falls in love with the bank worker Hina (Kubra Khan).

All disguise themselves as a rich people and then get an insurance policy to own a fake claim. Moon, who has also borrowed money from Gogi earlier for going to Dubai, is running from him due to the drugs he saw in a doll which he gave him to transfer to another mobster in Dubai. After Jumma prayer, all three get jammed in a strike and try to burn the bank but they are caught on camera and merely escape from police. Looking at every plan going wrong, Shakeel borrows money from Gogi by giving his house on mortgage. Gogi reaches them and asks Moon for the drugs. Unable to get them, he gives them one week to give him a crore. All blame each other for their situation. Shakeel gets unconscious and on the way to the hospital they get stuck in the strike, however later it is revealed that it was a part of plan so they get escape from strikers. They provoke strikers to burn the bank but only then they get to know that bank is empty. Later an IFU insurance inspector Samuel (Nayyar Ejaz) came to give them claim of thirty lacs, and warns them that he knows about what they did.

They go to Gogi to offer him thirty lacs and ask him for time, but then get into a fight with Dubai mobster and Gogi. Both of them get killed and all of three come home shocked. They find a phone ringing in a suitcase containing money and jewellery. It is then revealed that Hina robbed the bank before the strike for them. With the money, all gets settled; Shakeel buys a new home and standardises his pickle business, Farhan happily marries Naina and Moon fulfils his dream of going to Dubai.

Cast
 Fahad Mustafa as Farhan Ahmed
 Jawed Sheikh as Shakeel Ansari
 Mohsin Abbas Haider as Moon
 Urwa Hocane as Naina
 Kubra Khan as Hina
 Salman Shahid as Gogi
 Amber Wajid as Shama
 Irfan Motiwala as Polka
 Masood Khan as Jango
 Saleem Mairaj as Abdul Qadeer
 Muhammad Abdullah as Abdullah
 Nayyar Ejaz as Samuel (Special appearance)
 Amanullah Khan as Moon's uncle (Special Appearance)
 Mehwish Hayat as call girl as known as Billi (Special Appearance)
 Zaheen Tahira as Shakeel's Mother (Cameo)
 Shehnaz Pervaiz as Landlady
 Ali Rizvi as Tea Owner
 Paras Masroor as News Reporter

Production

Development
In 2012, director of telefilms at a comedy-show Banana News Network Nabeel Qureshi had an idea of making a film with the producer and screenwriter Fizza Ali Meerza who was Qureshi's friend and colleague at National Academy of Performing Arts before dropping out.  According to directors account the idea originates in a casual conversation with Fizza about banks, lockers and their insurance which ends up with the final name of 'Na Maloom Afraad', the director said, "within the next 24 hours, we had our story." In 2013 before Ramadan, Nabeel and Fizza co-write the film. Fizza and her brother financed the film with the initial budget of  under the banners of their own production company Filmwala Pictures. To maintain the budget of film producer wanted to make a film in Canon EOS 5D without taking extra technicalities in shooting. But however the final budget of film was closed around , becoming one of the biggest-budgeted films made in Pakistan. In early 2014, Hum TV came on board as media partner and by mid of year Eveready Pictures was in final negotiation for the Pakistan distribution rights. Award-winning cinematographer Rana Kamran (who previously work with Fizza on a film Armaan) was announced the director of the photography of the film.

Casting
In 2013, after the finishing work on script Nabeel and Fizza themselves choose the cast. Jawed Sheikh was the first person who was offered for the role of Shakeel Bhai, director recounts that "we had late Moeen Akhtar in our mind but after he passed away we for looked for the next best person and Jawed Sheikh came to mind". After reading the script sheikh accepted to do the film.

For the role of Farhan, television actor Fahad Mustafa came on board marking his debut in the field, director said, "It was hard to convince him to do a film because he had rejected many offers but thankfully, he liked the story and agreed."  Finally for the third main lead role of Moon was given to Mohsin Abbas Haider, who was a long time friend and colleague of director from Banana News Network, Nabeel emphasize that "Mohsin and I go a long way back and I always had him in mind for the role of Moon; there was no other person approached for the role." Mohsin also mark his debut as a film actor. Television actor Saleem Mairaj was offered a role of Abd-ul-Qadir a drug addict, for which he was reluctant at first but after briefing, he accepts the role and veteran PTV actor Nayyar Ejaz confirmed to play the role of insurance company agent Samuel. Irfan Motiwala and Masood Khan  confirmed to play the roles of henchmen Polka and Jango respectively. Waseem Abbas was offered the role of Gogi a local mobster and a drug dealer, but he refused to do a small role. Director then approached Salman Shahid who was also less interested for the role but after knowing that Nabeel has directed BNN's telefilms, was then willing to listen to the script, he eventually ended up agreeing to do the role.

Ambar Wajid was selected to play the role of Shama as Shakeel's wife. Kubra Khan joined the cast to play the role of Hina, a bank worker and love interest of Moon. Kubra marked her acting debut in the film, who previously worked on commercials. Television actress Urwa Hocane was selected to play the role of Naina, who in film is the sister of Shakeel and loves Farhan. Hoccane also marked her film debut from Na Maloon Afraad. Actress Meera was selected to play the role of Billi in the early stages of film, when only Sheikh was confirmed for the cast. But she refused to do the role due to her skin disease at that time, later Mehwish Hayat came on board to do the role. A special character of Stray Dog was added, who was specially trained for the film by stunt director Mehboob Shah. In addition to the cast well known television starlets Shehnaz Pervez, Zaheen Tara, Ali Rizvi and Paras Masroor also play minor roles as a landlady of Moon, mother of Shakeel, tea restaurant owner and crime show host respectively.

Filming
Principal photography began in January 2014 in Karachi. Filming took place around Saddar Town. The Saddar scenes involve an actual strike in a town; the production had to close the town for shooting; tyres and three to five cars were placed the night before the shooting to burn, in order to make scene like a strike. This was the first time in Pakistan a shooting for film took place on such a level. Filming continued till June and completed in early July. Post-production and editing were completed between July and early August. It became the first Pakistani film to be shot and released in the same year, and the second Pakistani film which was shot completely on the Arri Alexa XT digital cameras with anamorphic lenses after Jalaibee.

Music

The music album was released on 5 September 2014 in a press conference held at Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi where the film's star cast along with production team was present. Lyrics are penned by Sabir Zafar & Mohsin Abbas Haider consisting of nine tracks, with Shani & Kami composing seven and Vicky Haider & Naqash Haider with one track. Film's lead actor Mohsin Abbas Haider also wrote and sung one track Sapno Ki Mala, which was the impromptu addition to film album. The film promotion started on 13 September, with release of its first video promo of song Darbaar. The item song of film Billi is filmed on Mehwish Hayat and is sung by Saima Iqbal while it is written by Fizza Ali Meerza and Nabeel Qureshi.

Track listing

Release
The theatrical trailer was released on 27 June 2014 on social media and later on television.  was announced at a press conference held in Karachi that the film will be distributed by Hum Films and Eveready Pictures in cinemas across Pakistan on Eid ul-Adha 2014 At box office film competed Shaan Shahid’s Operation 021 and Hrithik Roshan’s Bang Bang on their release in Eid days. On 23 November 2014 Na Maloom Afraad had its New York City premiere at South Asian International Film Festival. The film released on limited screens in U.K. on 22 May and in U.A.E. on 3 September 2015. The satellite rights if of the movie were syndicated between HUM TV & Sony Max Int .The film had its t.v premiere on Hum TV as an Eid special on 19 July 2015.  The film was released in DVD on 13 August 2015. The film has been made streaming available on Netflix .

Box office
Na Maloom Afraad opened on approx 78 screens, the lowest on Eid among other two releases O21 and Bang Bang on day one but picked heavily since and collected  over first 3 Days of Eid which was slightly more than Bang bang but quite below O21. It collected  on first day of release, competing O21 at box office it crossed the figure of  on 9th day of release leaving all competitors behind and became the super hit of the time. Move held extremely well and went on to collect massive  over Eid Week from Monday to Sunday. Movie sustained supremely over the Weekdays and added another  over the Weekdays to take 11 days extended week one to  which is 2nd biggest of 2014 after Kick and 4th biggest of all time after Dhoom 3, Waar and Kick on their release in Pakistan. Movie continued its stable run in second weekend and collected  which was even more than last weekend taking grand total to . Film showed steady performance in 3rd weekdays as well and despite facing off with Happy New Year, collected  on 3rd weekend. The film collected Rs 12.20 crores in Pakistan and Rs 1.80 crores in overseas for a worldwide total of Rs 140 crores.

Reception

Critical response
The film got overall positive critical reviews, The film premiered on 29 September 2014 during a press event in Atrium Cinemas, Karachi. Film's lead cast along with film director and producer attended the screening event. Several journalists were also present to cover the story. Rafay Mahmood of The Express Tribune rated the movie 4/5 and wrote "Na Maloom Afraad is a smartly-crafted film, which guarantees a paisa-vasool (money earning) experience.  From the item number to the one-liners, every scene has a purpose and reveals something about the ongoing social circus in the country." Samra Muslim of Sunday wrote "Na Maloom Afraad is an out-and-out entertainer, which due to the catchy promos, strong word of mouth and excited audiences, all which will surely have the producers laughing all the way to the bank. Just what the Pakistani film industry needs!" Maliha Rehman of DAWN.com rated 4.5/5 and –wrote "It’s an all-out, tongue-in-cheek, cleverly-crafted entertainer that leaves you pining for more movies of the same variety."

Accolades
In Online winning race, It collected 2,736 votes at Tribune's Film Awards 2014, winning in most of categories both by critics and readers.

Sequel

In an interview with The Express Tribune, film producer commented about sequel as, "We don't know if it's going to be a proper sequel or a spiritual successor through which we'll tell a different story this time." However, its filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa between February and May 2017.

The film released on Eid al-Adha in September 2017. Fahad Mustafa, Javed Sheikh, Mohsin Abbas Haider and Urwa Hocane returned to the sequel, joined by new members Hania Amir and Marina Khan; latter made her film debut.

See also
 Na Maloom Afraad (film series)
 List of highest-grossing Pakistani films
 List of Pakistani films of 2014

References

External links

2014 films
2010s thriller films
2010s Urdu-language films
Films shot in Karachi
Pakistani comedy thriller films
Films scored by Sajjad Ali
2010s crime comedy films
2014 directorial debut films
2014 comedy films
Sony Pictures films


title: Claims to the first powered flight

text:
Several aviators have been claimed to be the first to fly a powered aeroplane. Much controversy surrounds these claims. It is generally, although not universally, accepted today that the Wright brothers were the first to achieve sustained and controlled powered manned flight, in 1903. It is popularly held in Brazil that their native citizen Alberto Santos-Dumont was the first successful aviator, discounting the Wright brothers' claim because their Flyer took off from a rail, and in later flights would sometimes employ a catapult. An editorial in the 2013 edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft supported the claim of Gustave Whitehead. Claims by, or on behalf of, other pioneers such as Clement Ader have also been put forward from time to time.

Significant claims
Several aviators or their supporters have laid claim to the first manned flight in a powered aeroplane. Claims that have received significant attention include:
 Clément Ader in the Avion III (1897)
 Gustave Whitehead in his No's. 21 and 22 aeroplanes (1901–1903)
 Richard Pearse in his monoplane (1903–1904)
 Samuel Pierpont Langley's Aerodrome A (1903)
 Karl Jatho in Jatho biplane (1903)
 The Wright brothers in the Wright Flyer (1903)
 Alberto Santos-Dumont in the 14-bis (1906)

In judging these claims, the generally accepted requirements are for sustained powered and controlled flight. In 1890 Ader had made a brief uncontrolled and unsustained "hop" in his Éole, but such a hop is not regarded as true flight. The ability to take off unaided is also sometimes regarded as necessary, while the minimum necessary distance flown to qualify has been the subject of contention. Air historian Charles Gibbs-Smith has said that, "The criteria of powered flight must remain to some extent a matter of opinion." Mythical or entirely fictional claims are not considered here.

History

Antecedents

Some notable powered hops were made before the problem of powered flight was finally solved.

In 1874 Félix du Temple built a steam-powered aeroplane which took off from a ramp with a sailor on board and remained airborne for a short distance. This has sometimes been claimed as the first powered flight in history but the claim is generally rejected because takeoff was gravity-assisted and flight was not sustained. It is however credited as the first powered takeoff in history.

Ten years later in 1884 the Russian Alexander Mozhaysky achieved similar success, launching his craft from a ramp and remaining airborne for . The claim that this was a sustained flight has not been taken seriously outside Russia.

Clément Ader's Éole of 1890 was a bat-winged tractor monoplane which achieved a brief, uncontrolled hop, becoming the first heavier-than-air machine in history to take off from level ground under its own power. However his hop is not regarded as true flight because it was neither sustained nor controlled. Ader would later make a controversial claim of a more extended flight.

The 1901 Drachenflieger of Wilhelm Kress was a triple-tandem winged floatplane. It had been inspired by Samuel Pierpoint Langley's experiments and, like his later designs, was powered by an internal combustion engine. It demonstrated good control when taxiing, but was too underpowered and failed to take off.

The period of claimed flights

Few of the claims to powered flight were widely accepted, or even made, at the time the events took place. Both the Wrights and Whitehead suffered in their early years from a lack of general recognition, while neither Ader nor Langley made any claim in the years immediately following their work. Indeed, Langley died in 1906 without ever making any claim of success.

The pioneer Octave Chanute promoted the Wrights' work, some of which he witnessed, in the United States and Europe. The brothers began to gain recognition in Britain, where Colonel John Edward Capper was taking charge of Army aeronautical work. On a visit to the U.S. in 1904 Capper befriended the Wrights and subsequently helped foster their early recognition. He also visited Langley, who openly discussed his failure with Capper.

In 1906 the U.S. Army rejected a proposal from the Wrights on the basis that their machine's ability to fly had not been demonstrated. Thus, when Alberto Santos-Dumont made a brief flight that year in his 14-bis aeroplane, there was no acknowledged antecedent and he was acclaimed in France and elsewhere as the first to fly. Ader responded by claiming that he had flown in his Avion III back in 1897.

Claims and recognition
Santos-Dumont's 1906 claim to flight has never been seriously disputed, although few authorities credit his as the first, while some have questioned the effectiveness of his controls.

In 1908 the Wrights embarked on a series of demonstrations with their by now much improved Flyers, Orville in America and Wilbur in Europe.

Ader's claim was debunked in 1910, when the official report on his work was finally published.

In the United States, the Smithsonian Institution, and primarily its then-Secretary Charles Walcott, refused to give credit to the Wright Brothers for the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft. Instead, they honored the former Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley, whose 1903 tests of his Aerodrome on the Potomac were not successful. In 1914, Glenn Curtiss had recently exhausted the appeal process in a patent infringement legal battle with the Wrights. Curtiss sought to prove Langley's machine, which failed piloted tests nine days before the Wrights' successful flight in 1903, capable of controlled, piloted flight in an attempt to invalidate the Wrights' wide-sweeping patents.

The Aerodrome was removed from exhibit at the Smithsonian and prepared for flight at Keuka Lake, New York.  Curtiss called the preparations "restoration" claiming that the only addition to the design was pontoons to support testing on the lake but critics including patent attorney Griffith Brewer called them alterations of the original design.  Curtiss flew the modified Aerodrome, hopping a few feet off the surface of the lake for 5 seconds at a time.

They used this as the basis for a claim that the Aerodrome was the first aeroplane "capable of flight". Orville, the surviving Wright brother, began a long and bitter public relations battle to force it to recognize their claim to primacy, his disgust reaching such a peak that in 1928 he sent the historic Flyer for display in the British Science Museum in London. He eventually succeeded in his battle, in 1942, when the Smithsonian, under a new Secretary Charles Abbot, admitted to Curtiss' modifications and withdrew its claim.

Meanwhile, with the publication of a co-authored article and a book by the journalist Stella Randolph, Whitehead had also begun to gain vocal advocates. In 1945 Orville Wright issued a critique of the evidence for Whitehead.

Orville died on January 30, 1948. As part of the Smithsonian's final deal with his executors, the Flyer was returned to the United States and put on display. A clause in the contract required the Smithsonian to claim primacy for the Wrights, on pain of losing the prize exhibit.

Whitehead's advocates have fought an equally bitter battle with the Smithsonian in an attempt to gain recognition, in which the Smithsonian's contract with the Wright estate has been subject to heavy criticism. Although Whitehead's advocates have gained some following, they remain in the minority.

It is generally accepted today that the Wright brothers were the first to make sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flights. Many in Brazil regard Santos-Dumont as the first successful aviator because his craft did not use an external launch system.

Ader

Following his hop in the Éole, Clément Ader obtained funding from the French Ministry for War. He built two more machines; the 'Avion II and in 1897 the similar but larger Avion III. Neither was able to leave the ground at all.

Several years later in 1906, following Blériot's first successful flights Ader claimed publicly that his Éole had flown for  in 1891, and that the Avion III had flown for 1,000 ft on the second day of its trials.

Ader's claim for the Avion III was refuted four years later in 1910, when the French Ministry for War finally published its report on his work. His claim for the Éole also collapsed through lack of credibility.

Whitehead

When Gustav Weisskopf immigrated to the United States he changed his name to Gustave Whitehead. There he began an extensive series of experiments with gliders, aero engines and motorized flying machines. Whitehead and other sources have claimed he made successful powered aeroplane flights.

Louis Darvarich, a friend of Whitehead, said they flew together in a steam-powered machine in 1899 and crashed into the side of a building in their path.
The Bridgeport Herald newspaper reported that on August 14, 1901, Whitehead flew his No. 21 monoplane to a height of  and could steer it a little by shifting his weight to the left or right.
Whitehead wrote letters to a magazine, saying that in 1902 he made two flights in his No. 22 machine, including a circle, steering with a combination of the rudder and variable speeds of the two propellers.

Controversy ignites

Stanley Beach was a friend of Whitehead, sharing a patent application with him in 1905. Beach's father was editor of Scientific American, which was initially sympathetic to Whitehead and included a number of reports of short flights by Whitehead. Later, Beach and Whitehead fell out and, now editor of the Scientific American in his turn, Beach denied that Whitehead ever flew.

Whitehead's claims were not taken seriously until two journalists, Stella Randolph and Harvey Phillips, wrote an article in a 1935 edition of Popular Aviation journal. Harvard University economics professor John B. Crane responded with a rebuttal, published in National Aeronautic Magazine in December 1936. The next year Randolph expanded the article, together with additional research, into a book titled Lost Flights of Gustave Whitehead. Crane changed his mind in 1938 and suggested that a Congressional investigation should consider the claims. By 1945 Orville Wright was sufficiently concerned about the Whitehead claims that he issued his own rebuttal in US Air Services. Then in 1949 Crane published a new article in Air Affairs magazine that supported Whitehead.

O'Dwyer and Randolph claims
Following a chance discovery in 1963, reserve U.S. Air Force major William O'Dwyer was asked to research Whitehead's claims. He became convinced that Whitehead did fly and contributed research material to a second book by Stella Randolph, The Story of Gustave Whitehead, Before the Wrights Flew, published in 1966.

O'Dwyer and Randolph co-authored another book, History by Contract, published in 1978. The book criticised the Smithsonian Institution for its contracted obligation to credit only the 1903 Wright Flyer for the first powered controlled flight, claiming that it created a conflict of interest and had been kept secret. The Smithsonian defended itself vigorously.

Jane's renews controversy
On March 8, 2013, the aviation annual Jane's All the World's Aircraft published an editorial by Paul Jackson endorsing the Whitehead claim. Jackson's editorial drew heavily upon information provided by aviation researcher John Brown, whom he complimented for his work.  Brown had begun researching Whitehead's aircraft while working as a contractor for the Smithsonian. Jane's corporate owner later distanced itself from the editorial, stating it contained the views of the editor, not the publisher.

Brown analysed a vintage photograph of an early indoor aeronautical exhibition, claiming that an even earlier photograph visible on the wall showed the Whitehead No. 21 aircraft in powered flight.  Jackson's editorial did not mention the claim, and two weeks after its publication he stated to the press that the image was not significant to the claim of Whitehead's flight, remarking, "And that entirely spurious 'Where's the photograph?' argument."  Aviation historian Carroll Gray subsequently identified the photo seen on the wall "beyond any reasonable doubt" as a glider built and displayed in California by aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery.

Responding to the renewed controversy, Tom Crouch, a senior curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, formally acknowledged the Wright contract, saying that it had never been a secret. He also stated;

Scientific American published a rebuttal of the Whitehead claims written by its senior copy editor Daniel C. Schlenoff, who asserted, regarding the Bridgeport Herald report, that "The consensus on the article is that it was an interesting work of fiction."

Thirty-eight air historians and journalists also responded to the revived controversy with a "Statement Regarding The Gustave Whitehead Claims of Flight", rejecting the evidence supporting the claims and noting that, "When it comes to the case of Gustave Whitehead, the decision must remain, not proven."

Langley

Samuel Pierpont Langley was secretary to the Smithsonian Institution from 1887 until the year of his death in 1906. During this period, and in due course supported by the United States War Department, he conducted aeronautical experiments, culminating in his manned Aerodrome A. Under Langley's instruction Charles M. Manly attempted to fly the craft from a catapult on the roof of a houseboat in 1903. Two attempts, on October 7 and December 8, both failed with Manly receiving a soaking each time.

Glenn Curtiss and the Smithsonian
Some ten years later in 1914 Glenn Curtiss modified the Aerodrome and flew it a few hundred feet, as part of his attempt to fight a patent owned by the Wright brothers, and as an effort by the Smithsonian to rescue Langley's aeronautical reputation. The Curtiss flights emboldened the Smithsonian to display the Aerodrome in its museum as "the first man-carrying aeroplane in the history of the world capable of sustained free flight". Fred Howard, extensively documenting the controversy, wrote: "It was a lie pure and simple, but it bore the imprimatur of the venerable Smithsonian and over the years would find its way into magazines, history books, and encyclopedias, much to the annoyance of those familiar with the facts."

The Smithsonian's action triggered a decades-long feud with the surviving Wright brother, Orville. It was not until 1942 that the Smithsonian finally relented, publishing the Aerodrome modifications made by Curtiss and recanting misleading statements it had made about the 1914 tests.

Wrights

On December 17, 1903, a few miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers launched their aeroplane from a dolly running along a short rail, which was laid on level ground. Taking turns, Orville and Wilbur made four brief flights at an altitude of about ten feet each time. The flight paths were all essentially straight; turns were not attempted. Each flight ended in a bumpy and unintended "landing" on the undercarriage skids or runners, as the craft did not have wheels. The last flight, by Wilbur, was  in 59 seconds, much longer than each of the three previous flights of 120, 175 and 200 feet. The Flyer moved forward under its own engine power and was not assisted by catapult, a device the brothers did use during flight tests in the next two years and at public demonstrations in the U.S. and Europe in 1908–1909. A headwind averaging about 20 mph gave the machine sufficient airspeed to become airborne; its speed over the ground was less than 10 mph. Photographs were taken of the machine in flight.

The Wrights kept detailed logs and diaries about their work. Their correspondence with Octave Chanute provides a virtual history of their efforts to invent a flying machine. They also documented their work in photographs, although they did not make public any photos of their powered flights until 1908. Their written records also were not made available to the public at the time, though they were published in 1953 after the Wright estate donated them to the U.S. Library of Congress.

The Wrights' claim to a historic first flight was largely accepted by U.S. newspapers but inaccurately reported initially. In January 1904 they issued a statement to newspapers accurately describing the flights. After an announced public demonstration in May 1904 in Dayton, the Wrights made no further effort to publicize their work, and were advised by their patent attorney to keep details of their machine confidential. In 1905 a few dozen people witnessed flights by the Wright Flyer III. Pioneers such as Octave Chanute and the British Army officer Lt. Col. John Capper were among those who believed the Wrights' public and private statements about their flights.

In 1906, almost three years after the first flights, the U.S. Army rejected an approach from the Wrights on the basis that their proposed machine's ability to fly had not been demonstrated.

By 1907 the Wrights' claims were accepted widely enough for them to be in negotiations with Britain, France and Germany as well as their own government, and early in 1908 they concluded contracts with both the US War Department and a French syndicate. In May Wilbur sailed for Europe in order to carry out acceptance trials for the French contract. On 4 July 1908 Glenn Curtiss gave the first widely publicised public demonstration of flight in the USA. As a result, the Wright brothers' prestige fell. Subsequent flights of both brothers that year went on to astonish the world and their early claims gained almost universal public recognition as legitimate.

Subsequent criticisms of the Wrights have included accusations of secrecy before coming to Europe in 1908, the use of a catapult-assisted launch, and such a lack of aerodynamic stability as to make the machine almost unflyable.

The Smithsonian feud

Following the Curtiss experiments with the Langley Aerodrome in 1914, surviving Wright brother Orville began a long and bitter campaign against the Smithsonian to gain recognition. His disgust reached such a peak in 1928 that he sent the historic Flyer for display in the British Science Museum in London. It was not until 1942 that the Smithsonian finally relented, at last retracting its claims for Langley and acknowledging the Wrights' place in history.

Orville died on January 30, 1948. The Flyer – delayed by the war and an arrangement for a copy to be made – was returned to its native America and put on display in the Smithsonian. A clause in the contract required the Smithsonian to claim primacy for the Wrights, at risk of losing their newly acquired prize exhibit. The Smithsonian has honoured its contract ever since and continues to support the Wrights' claim.

Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont was a Brazilian aviation pioneer of French ancestry. Having immigrated to France for studies, he made his aeronautical name in that country with airships before turning to heavier-than-air flight. On 23 October 1906 he flew his 14-bis biplane for a distance of  at a height of about five meters or less (15 ft). The flight was officially observed and verified by the Aéro-Club (later renamed the Aéro-Club de France). This won Santos-Dumont the Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize for the first officially-observed flight of more than 25 meters. Aviation historians generally recognise it as the first powered flight in Europe. Then on 12 November a flight of 22.2 seconds carried the 14-bis some , earning the Aéro-Club prize of 1,500 francs for the first flight of more than 100 m. This flight was also observed by the newly formed Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and became the first record in their log book.

The lateral control system comprised ailerons mounted between the wings and attached to a harness worn by the pilot, who was intended to correct any rolling movement by leaning in the opposite direction. Both flights ended when the craft began to roll and Santos-Dumont landed because he was unable to correct it. This has led some critics to question the lateral control capability of the 14-bis, however it has not prevented the flight from being recognised. At that time the Wrights' claim had not yet been accepted in Europe and was questioned in America by the authoritative Scientific American. Thus, Santos-Dumont was credited by many with the first powered flight.

Other claims

In 1894 Hiram Maxim tested a flying machine running on a track and held down by safety rails because it lacked adequate flight control. The machine lifted off the track and met the safety rails and this is sometimes claimed as a flight. Maxim himself never made such a claim.

John Hall, of Springfield, Massachusetts was credited, alongside Whitehead, with flights prior to the Wrights by Crane in his 1947 Air Affairs magazine article.

Preston A. Watson was subject of a claim made in 1953 by his brother J.Y. Watson, that he had flown before the Wrights in 1903. J.Y. Watson later admitted that this was in an unpowered glider.

Pearse
Richard Pearse of New Zealand is credited by some in his country with making the first powered airplane flight on 31 March 1903. He did not claim the feat himself and gave ambiguous information about the chronology of his work. Biographer Geoffrey Rodliffe wrote, "no responsible researcher has ever claimed that he achieved fully controlled flight before the Wright brothers, or indeed at any time".

Jatho
Karl Jatho of Germany is generally credited with making powered airborne hops in Hanover between August and November 1903. He claimed a hop of  about  high on August 18, 1903, and several more hops or short flights by November 1903 for distances up to  at  height. His aircraft made takeoffs from level ground. In Germany some enthusiasts credit him with making the first airplane flight. Sources differ whether his aircraft was controlled.

Vuia
Traian Vuia is credited with a powered hop of  on March 18, 1906, and he claimed additional powered takeoffs in August. His design—a monoplane with a tractor propeller—is recognized as first to show that a heavier-than-air machine could take off on wheels. Romanian sources give him credit as first to take off and fly using his machine's "own self provided energy" and no "external support"—references to not using a rail or catapult, as the Wright brothers had done. Santos-Dumont was part of the audience at the March 1906 event.

Ellehammer
Jacob Ellehammer made a tethered powered hop of about  on 12 September 1906. This has been claimed as a flight. Ellehammer's attempt was not officially observed, whereas Santos-Dumont's, only a few weeks later, was observed and has been given primacy.

See also
Early flying machines

References

Notes

Bibliography
Angelucci, E. and Marticardi, P.; World Aircraft: Origins-World War 1, Sampson Low 1977.
Gibbs-Smith, C.; "Hops and Flights: A Roll Call of Early Powered Take-offs", Flight, Volume 75, Issue 2619, 3 April 1959, Pages 468,469,470.
Walker, P.; Early Aviation at Farnborough Volume II: The First Aeroplanes, Macdonald 1974.
Wragg, D.; Flight Before Flying, Osprey 1974.

External links
O'Dwyer, W.; "The “Who Flew First” Debate," Flight Journal, Oct 1998, pp 22–23, 50–55.
FlightJournal blog: Who was first the Wrights or Whitehead?. Includes links to other related resources.
Time The Unlikely Fight Over First in Flight.
National Geographic Wright Brothers Flight Legacy Hits New Turbulence: Aviation periodical proclaims Gustave Whitehead flew the first airplane.

History of aviation
Flight
Alberto Santos-Dumont


title: Georgios Koutsioumpas

text:
Georgios Koutsioumpas (; born May 18, 1981, in Trikala) is an amateur Greek Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. Koutsioumpas represented his home nation Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and later picked up a silver medal in the 96-kg division at the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain. Throughout his sporting career, Koutsioumpas, along with his older brother Xenofon, trained as a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling team for Olympiacos F.C. in Piraeus, with whom he won the European CELA Cup in 2006. Since 2012 they have been training at Atlas Mytilenes under their head coach Sotirios Petrakis.

Koutsioumpas qualified as a member of the Greek squad in the men's 96 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens by receiving an allocated place and an automatic spot for the host nation from the International Federation of Associated Wrestling (). By the delight of the boisterous home crowd inside the Ano Liossa Olympic Hall, Koutsioumpas opened his match by edging Kazakhstan's Asset Mambetov out of the mat with an effortless throw, but suffered a tedious 6–11 blowout from Egypt's Karam Gaber on his second bout. Despite a single loss, Koutsioumpas continued to grapple powerfully against Poland's Marek Sitnik and paid off by a 3–2 sudden death decision. Finishing third in the prelim pool, Koutsioumpas' performance fell short to put him through into the quarterfinals, as he left his home crowd in agony. When Iran's Masoud Hashemzadeh was disqualified for an illegal protest during the bronze medal match, Koutsioumpas' position was eventually upgraded to seventh.

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database

1981 births
Living people
Olympic wrestlers for Greece
Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympiacos wrestlers
Sportspeople from Trikala
Greek male sport wrestlers
Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Greece
Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling
21st-century Greek people


title: Royyuru

text:
Royyuru is a village in Krishna District, Thotlavalluru Mandalam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

References

Villages in Krishna district