By Steve Bigham

A film crew from Fairfield was in town last Friday shooting scenes for an upcoming documentary about the life and times of German aviator Gustaf Whitehead.

Cameras rolled inside the Cyrenius H. Booth Library, which was chosen for its historically preserved features. The library plays the part of a Bridgeport courthouse where, in 1936, citizens gave affidavits swearing that they saw Mr Whitehead fly his self-propelled airplane in the skies over Bridgeport on August 14, 1901.

Richard Howell, a reporter for the Bridgeport Herald, broke the story after eyewitnesses said they saw the plane in flight. But that was more than two years before Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina December 17, 1903. The history books credit the Wright Brothers, and make little mention of Mr Whitehead. Here in lies the mystery behind this historical figure, who is celebrated in Germany as the pioneer of flight, but is remains virtually unknown here in the United States. After all, noted film producer Barry Greene, Mr Whitehead was a German immigrant, “and no one in America wanted to hear anything good about a German back then. The Wright Brothers had financing and they were two all-American boys.”

Last week’s shoot for the film entitled “The Daedalus Conspiracy” featured characters dressed in traditional garb giving legal testimony about what they saw that summer day in the Park City.

“We needed to film the re-enactment in a court room or appropriate city building. We’re doing re-enactments of people giving their affidavits about what they saw. One guy talks about how in 1901 he saw Whitehead fly over his head as he was standing in a field,” said Mr Greene, owner of Tigre Entertainment Corporation.

One Bridgeport resident, who claimed to be there on the day of the flight, Joe Ratzenberger, a city cop, provided testimony 35 years after the flight. He was the real-life grandfather of John Ratzenberger, who played the part of Cliff Claven on the hit series “Cheers.”

Ratzenberger (aka Cliff) has spoken publicly about his grandfather and his alleged sighting. Although his grandfather was just a boy at the time of the flight, Mr Ratzenberger believes the stories, pointing out that his grandfather was an honest man.

The film crew spent the early part of the week at a building owned by the Redding Historical Society. In that scene, Whitehead is seen working in his shop on Cherry Street in Bridgeport when Orville and Wilbur Wright – posing as financiers – stop by to steal a few secrets.

The title for the film, “The Daedalus Conspiracy,” is derived from Greek mythology. According to legend, the character Daedalus builds wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son, Icarus. Icarus flies too close to the sun, however, and the wings melt. He crashes.

“Whitehead built his own wings. He is a tribute to what a single human being – using his own resources and drive – could accomplish,” Mr Greene said.

The documentary is scheduled to air on the Speedvision Network, which is available to Direct TV satellite users.