Who is the true "Father of Aviation?" The answer depends on both the criteria one uses to define flight, and on the credit one is willing to give to those who laid the foundation for it. Brazilians point to their own Alberto Santos Dumont, who, in 1906, after becoming a world-famous pilot of dirigibles, was the first to take off, fly, and land a motor-driven airplane without the use of wind power. To most Americans, the answer seems obvious: Orville and Wilbur Wright flew three years prior in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, albeit with the assistance of its strong and steady winds. A definitive answer may never be reached, as nationalism sometimes sways opinion. Germans argue in favor of Otto Lilenthal, considered to be the first hang glider pilot, who made hundreds of flights before his death in 1896. The Montgolfiers of France popularized dirigibles via their balloon flights in the late 18th century. Their compatriot Henri Giffard flew a dirigible powered by a steam engine in 1852. And what of supposed earlier attempts made by more primitive cultures? Little or no record has been left of any such attempts, perhaps precluding the possibility of assigning proper credit to who may have actually been the "Father of Aviation."

The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) propose further investigation into a mystery.
(B) discuss various opinions about a controversy.
(C) present two hypotheses concerning the origins of flight.
(D) describe reasons why the origins of flight are mysterious.
(E) argue that the first aviator may have actually been a cavemạn.



The author implies that the use of dirigibles

(A) was popularized by Santos Dumont.
(B) involved technology not unlike that of a hang glider.
(C) was probably employed by more primitive cultures.
(D) was not well-known prior to the work of the Montgolfiers.
(E) cannot effectively be considered early flight.



It can be inferred that the author would find the possibility mentioned in the last sentence of the passage more plausible if it were true that

(A) Henri Giffard had not left a record of his flight history.
(B) Santos Dumont had flown in Brazil, instead of Paris.
(C) more people believed that primitive cultures were capable of creating flying machines.
(D) primitive cultures were more capable of creating dirigibles than hang gliders.
(E) primitive cultures left blueprints detailing a flight machine.