Teaching America to Win Again

The Eighth Challenge

Wikipedia: The next America's Cup challenge was initially limited to 70 ft (21.34 m) waterline in 1889, but the mutual-agreement clauses of a new 1887?Deed of Gift?caused the Royal Yacht Squadron to withdraw the?Earl of Dunraven's promising Watson designed challenger?Valkyrie?while she was crossing the Atlantic. Dunraven challenged again in 1893, pleading for a return to the longer 85 ft (26 m) limit. In a cup-crazed Britain, its four largest cutters ever were being built, including Watson's?Valkyrie II?for Dunraven's challenge. Meanwhile, the NYYC's wealthiest members;

ordered two cup candidates from Herreshoff;

and two more from Boston yacht designers.?Charles Oliver Iselin, who was running the syndicate behind one of the Herreshoff designs called?Vigilant;

gave the naval architect leave to design the yacht entirely as he willed. Herreshoff helmed?Vigilant?himself and beat all his rivals in selection trials, and defended the cup successfully from?Valkyrie II.[23]

The Connection?

Controlled flight was achieved by Orville and Wilbur Wright thanks to the care and consistent support of their Oberlin College-educated sister Katharine.?

Wikipedia: Katharine Wright Haskell(August 19, 1874 – March 3, 1929) was the younger sister of?aviation?pioneers?Wilbur and Orville Wright;

with whom she worked closely. She managed the bicycle shop, helped with flight operations, writing, communications and iterated ideas with her brothers, was a high school teacher and later became an international celebrity when the whole family team went to Europe.?

Penaud, the Spark

Because of their father's position as a?bishop?in the?Church of the United Brethren in Christ;

he traveled often and the Wrights frequently moved – twelve times before finally returning permanently to Dayton in 1884. In elementary school, Orville was given to mischief and was once expelled.[21] In 1878 when the family lived in?Cedar Rapids, Iowa, their father brought home a toy helicopter for his two younger sons. The device was based on an invention of French aeronautical pioneer?Alphonse Pénaud;

Made of paper, bamboo and cork with a rubber band to twirl its rotor, it was about 1 ft (30 cm) long. Wilbur and Orville played with it until it broke, and then built their own.[22] In later years, they pointed to their experience with the toy as the spark of their interest in flying.[13](pp56–57)

Contracts and Government

The Wright brothers' endeavors were privately funded.[8] Early on, this funding came primarily from their own bicycle shop which Katharine managed.[7] She packed supplies for the Wright Brothers,[9] managed official correspondence, supplemented funding their continued work at Kitty Hawk with her stable income from teaching,[7] and provided solutions to problems not having to do directly with the planes or the mechanics behind it. Katharine helped Wilbur and Orville to negotiate a one-year extension of their contract with the U.S. Signal Corps. She also learned?French?in order to speak with European dignitaries for her brothers during their exhibition trips funded by?Charles Ranlett Flint.[8]

One nation and city, the City of Lights;

recognized Katharine Wright’s extraordinary contribution by awarding her brothers and her the Legion of Honor.?

As Napoleon said; “It is with baubles that men (and women) are led;” in business, love and war.?

Inspiration?

The Wrights were inspired by a toy, brought to them from the Paris Exposition of 1889. It was brought home as a souvenir by the Wrights’ father Bishop Milton Wright

Scaling Globally

What the Wrights invented was controlled flight, the conquest of the dihedral, which so many glider specialists had failed to achieve since 500 BCE.

Wikipedia: Yuan Huangtou (Chinese:?元黄头; died in 559), He was the son of emperor?Yuan Lang?of?Northern Wei. At that time,?Gao Yang?took control of the court of?Eastern Wei?and set the emperor up as a puppet. Finally, Yuan Huangtou was imprisoned by Gao Yang and, against his will,?flown via a large kitefrom the tower of?Ye, China. He survived this flight, but was later starved in prison.[1][2][3]

Funding, Education and “the Father of Trusts”

Charles Ranlett Flint, yachtsman, sportsman and adventurer and?founder of the?Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company?which later became?IBM, supported the global scaling of the innovations of the Wrights. For his financial dealings he earned the moniker "Father of Trusts".[1][2] He was an avid sportsman and member of the syndicate that built the yacht?Vigilant,?that was the U.S. defender of the?eighth America’s Cup?

The history and prestige associated with the America's Cup attracts the world's top sailors, yacht designers, wealthy entrepreneurs and sponsors;

It is a test of sailing skill, boat and sail design, and fundraising and management skills. Competing for the cup is expensive, with modern teams spending more than $US100 million each;[5] the 2013 winner was estimated to have spent $US300 million on the competition.[6]

The trophy was held by the NYYC from 1857 until?1983. The NYYC successfully defended the trophy twenty-four times in a row before being defeated by the?Royal Perth Yacht Club, represented by the yacht?Australia II. Including the original 1851 victory, the NYYC's 132-year reign was the longest (in terms of time)?winning streak?in any sport.[7]

Sailing and Flying

Innovation driven by inspiration, funding and logistics; the “full stack” are what leads to “breaking the surly bonds of earth.”

Next: Style Matters