Wilbur Wright und seine Flugmaschine

Wilbur Wright und seine Flugmaschine (Wilbur Wright and his Flying Machine) is the German viewing market title of a short silent film made in 1909 and is considered to be the first use of motion picture aerial photography as filmed from a heavier-than-air aircraft. It was filmed 24 April 1909 at what is now known as Centocelle Airport, near Rome, by French cinematographic company Société Générale des Cinématographes Eclipse. The events leading up to the creation of the film began in 1908 when the Wright brothers received an invitation from the Compagnie Générale de Navigation Aérienne to ship a Wright Flyer "Model A" airplane to France and fly it at Le Mans to dispel any remaining doubt that they had indeed conquered heavier-than-air flight. Since few had witnessed their earlier successes, many in Europe were skeptical about their claims. Some skeptics in the European press went so far as to claim that the stories were a "bluff." The 30 August 1908 edition of Le petit journal illustré was quoted as saying, "The experiments that Wilbur Wright is carrying out in France at the moment victoriously responded to this accusation." Among those present for the public demonstrations prior to the filming was Louis Blériot, who would cross the English Channel by plane the following year. It begins with a shot of Wilbur Wright starting the engine; an unidentified assistant (quite likely his brother, Orville) is seen at the front of the aircraft. From there, shots of the aircraft in flight with Wright at the controls along with an unidentified passenger cut to shots of onlookers on the ground, presumably military and press liaisons. The aircraft is shown in side-to-side flybys as well as low-altitude passes directly toward and away from the camera.