For more than a century, Orville and Wilbur Wright have been credited with achieving the first powered flight.

But some Connecticut aviation enthusiasts believe that honor belongs to Gustave Whitehead, a German immigrant who settled in Bridgeport in 1899.

Whitehead spent years designing and building aircraft, including a machine known as Number 21, which supporters say successfully flew on Aug. 14, 1901.

According to accounts published at the time, Whitehead's aircraft reportedly traveled about a half-mile and reached an altitude of roughly 40 feet, more than two years before the Wright brothers' famous flight at Kitty Hawk.

"It was documented by the Bridgeport Herald newspaper," said Fairfield aviation enthusiast and Whitehead historian Andy Kosch.

Kosch has spent decades researching Whitehead's work and even built replicas of Number 21 in an effort to test the aircraft's design.

One of those replicas briefly left the ground during testing in Bridgeport in 1986.

Skeptics argue there is not enough evidence to prove Whitehead achieved sustained, controlled powered flight before the Wright brothers.

Supporters, however, say his contributions deserve greater recognition in aviation history.

"The Wright brothers are famous for what they did," Kosch said. "But if somebody did it two years earlier, he should get a little bit of credit."

Today, Whitehead remains one of Connecticut's most intriguing and debated figures in aviation history.