Wright brothers are pioneers of flight, but John J. Montgomery paved the way for history
Published on Page 11 of the September 4, 2013 issue of Morgan Hill Life:
By Staff Report
Craig Harwood, author of Quest for Flight
Orville and Wilber Wright launched humanity into the airplane age with their 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk — and a full-scale model of their Wright Flyer can be seen at the Wings of History Museum in San Martin.
But few people know the story of John J. Montgomery, a Santa Clara County scientist and inventor who, using a glider in 1883 in the city of Santa Clara, achieved the first controlled flights of a heavier-than-air craft. Montgomery’s experiments in aviation provided the Wright brothers with the technical knowledge they needed to build their airplane.
Montgomery’s amazing story is told in the newly-released book Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West by Craig S. Harwood and Gary B. Fogel.
Book cover of Quest for Flight
As part of the Morgan Hill Life Presents author series, Harwood will be at downtown Morgan Hill’s BookSmart bookstore at 5 p.m. Sept. 10 to talk about Montgomery and autograph copies of Quest for Flight. The author told us about his fascination with Montgomery and why the scientist played a major role in the pioneer days of aviation.
The Wright brothers are famous pioneers of flight, but John J. Montgomery paved the way for their achievement at Kitty Hawk. Why do you think Montgomery is hardly known now?
Montgomery is pretty obscure because he failed to capitalize on his inventions and become a force in the field of flight. The Wrights, on the other hand, were highly motivated to gain a foothold in aviation financially and once they did, they promoted a lot of self-serving propaganda that gradually became folded into the historical writing. With the Wrights as the overwhelming victors, a lot of others’ accomplishments became gradually obscured in the retelling of the story.
What was Montgomery’s significant contributions to manned flight?
He conceived of the technology necessary for controlled, balanced flight. He developed a correct aeronautical propeller and this theory was adopted in the first generation of American airships. He inspired a generation of men to take to the skies and his public exhibitions of flight impacted societal views toward “the impossible art” of flight. He was a genuine pioneer.
How was Montgomery perceived by the people of Santa Clara County during his glider experiments?
Although initially skeptical, once the aeronaut (Daniel) Maloney began carving his way through the sky hundreds of feet above the earth, the public was in awe. There were a number of mishaps during some of the exhibitions that left some people skeptical. But the Santa Clara exhibition, to quote a historian of the period, “amazed the world”.
Why is Montgomery particularly fascinating that you decided to write a book about him?
Throughout the millennia, humankind was restricted to the surface of the earth and the prospect of flight appeared to be the stuff of science fiction as it required going against the laws of gravity. It appeared to be the stuff of science fiction. Montgomery however was a visionary thinker and believed in himself to the degree that he overcame a never-ending series of obstacles to finally achieve one of the greatest challenges in modern technology/science — human controlled flight. This is a very compelling story.
What do you hope readers will get out of the book?
I hope people enjoy discovering that there is an important local aspect to this great technological saga. Through the work of Montgomery and his Bay Area-based peers, Santa Clara County has an important place in the annals of human endeavor.
INFORMATION
When: 5 p.m., Sept. 10
Location: BookSmart, 80 E. Second St.
Call: (408) 778-6467
