Did the Wright Brothers fly before Santos Dumont?
You forgot to mention something significant, “Heavier than Air”. The Wright brothers are credited for making the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air human flight and Santos Dumont will need almost 3 more years to do this feat. By the time Santos Dumont makes his first heavier-than-air flight, the Wrights Flyers were taking off on their own power. Santos Dumont might have flown before the Wrights, but it was not a heavier than air craft and many others have done that too before Dumont. Since you had put some arguments in favor of SD, how about this? Is flight using “ground effect” comparable to free flight? SD flew the 14 bis after the Wrights made their first unassisted take-off. So the mentioning of the 14 bis or the existence of a film doesnt change anything, the answer stays. SD loved being in the center of attention while the Wrights preferred their privacy.
