(James Dandy) wrote in message om...
My aviation co-worker claims that the Wright brothers had a secret
name for their Flyer- the Bullam.

He claims that the brothers had nicknames for themselves when they
were growing up. Apparently Wilbur was Ullam and Orville was Bubbo or
Bubs.

Bullam comes from this combination of childhood nicknames, but the
Wrights decided to keep this name secret. However, a colleague of
theirs heard them refer to the Flyer as Bullam at least once according
to Mr. Know-it-all.

Is this true? I can't bet on it because I don't know.

James Dandy

I would'nt bet on it since there is no real record of any other name
for the Wright Flyer. Some people claim that it was called "Bird of
Prey" as the Wrights had studied bird flight for some time. But if you
search that all you get is either Dumont's 1906 biplane or Boeing's
recent stealth demonstrator.
Other online sites are misleading as well. They claim that Flyer was
given to the airplane due to one of the Wright's pets- a dog... which
was true except the dog was aquired in 1908, five years after the
flight.
"Bullam" as used above would literally translate as "Baby William" as
"Bubbo" was what Wilbur called Orville as a baby and "Ullam" is what
Orville called Wilbur. It comes from "Jullum"- German for William.
Interesting, but unless you/he gives us a reference for that name it's
just speculation.

Rob