Plane flew in Nepal two years before Wright brothers invented it: VP Pun

By Renuka Dhakal

Kathmandu, Apr. 26: Vice President (VP) Nanda Bahadur Pun has said that the first airplane to fly in the sky of Nepal was built two years before the Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, invented the first airplane. 

Speaking at the inauguration programme of science exhibition organised by Aviation Museum in Sinamangal, Kathmandu on Monday, VP Pun said that he studied the successful history of airplane flying for the first time in Nepal but because of a lack of acknowledgment and encouragement, Nepal is not recognised as the first country to fly an airplane. 

VP Pun said that Achyutananda Pandey, who was born in Charange of Dhading district, was the first to make an airplane and fly it successfully from Chaplighat to Kalmochan Ghat.

Today is the age of science, technology and energy, and it is difficult to move the world forward without science and technology, said Vice President Pun. 

Giving the reference of scientist Galileo Galilei, he said that the development of science and technology got momentum in the 16th century when 

Galileo Galilei discovered that the earth was round. 

He also added that science helps understand the whole universe and there is nothing that man cannot study and that science cannot discover in the universe. 

Vice President Pun said that uranium is now considered to be one of the richest sources of energy in the world and Nepal is the richest country in uranium. 

There are uranium mines in Mustang and Makwanpur but there is not 

enough manpower to excavate and use it for the development of the country, he added. 

“In the coming days, there will be skilled scientists in Nepal to mine this uranium and use this energy properly for the development of the country,” he said. 

Science has performed miracles in the world and the achievements in the world so far have been possible due to science. 

However, being unable to make proper use of science and technology, Nepal has not been able to develop as needed, so the next generation should focus on learning science, added the Vice President. 

An exhibition of 13 scientific innovations was inaugurated on Monday at the Aviation Museum, which came into operation five years ago under the leadership of Captain Bed Upreti in Sinamangal.

Vice President Pun inaugurated the exhibition and observed the exhibition. 

The museum has been exhibiting 13 scientific innovations including who wins the race, gravitational force, perception of depth, Newton’s 

third law, flying pencil by magnet, changing colours, mysterious water and more. 

According to Captain Upreti, they are planning to exhibit 26 scientific works in the coming days.