Another (completely unrelated) tidbit from that time in history: There were two competing schools of thought regarding flight. One was the modern school of thought: that pilots should be given control. The other was inherent stability, the idea that planes could be made to balance themselves in the air with no input from a pilot.

I just think it's interesting how difficult it is to see good ideas when they haven't been invented yet. And how easy it is to relentlessly pursue bad ideas.