Nikola Tesla to New York Times 13-Sep-1908

Tesla doesn't see a big difference between current airplanes and the Langley Aerodrome A. He doesn't mention the Wrights or any other contemporary aviators, and doesn't seem to think much of them. He's waiting for a bigger advance.

With of Maxim and others he seems to consider petroleum propulsion the essential element behind the success of airplanes.

Excerpt:

Place any of the later aeroplanes beside that of Langley, their prototype, and you will not find as much as one decided improvement. There are the same old propellers, the same old inclined planes, rudders, and vanes—not a single notable difference. Some have tried to hide their "discoveries." It is like the hiding of an ostrich who buries his head in the sand. Half a dozen aeronauts have been in turn hailed as conquerers and kings of the air. It would have been much more appropriate to greet John D. Rockefeller as such. But for the abundant supply of high-grade fuel we would still have to wait for an engine capable of supporting not only itself but several times its own weight against gravity.
The capabilities of the Langley aerodrome have been most strikingly illustrated. Notwithstanding this, it is not a practical machine. It has a low efficiency of propulsion, and the starting, balancing, and alighting are attended with difficulties. The chief defect however, is that it is doomed if it should encounter a downward gust of wind. The helicopter is in these respects much preferable but is objectionable for other reasons. The successful heavier-than-air flier will be based on principles radically novel and will meet all requirements. It will soon materialize, and when it does it will give an impetus to manufacture and commerce such as was never witnessed before, provided only that Governments do not resort to the methods of the Spanish Inquisition, which have already proved so disastrous to the wireless art, the ideal means for making man absolute master of the air.

Note: Tesla's first name is here spelled "Nicola" but "Nikola" seems to be the more frequently used spelling.

Sender	Nikola Tesla
Recipient	New York Times
Date sent	13-Sep-1908
From location	letter to the editor
To location	New York City, US
Communication type
Language	English
Refers to flight?	1
Tech fields	airplane
Length (in words)
Full text available