Give it funding, time, and effort and the compass question will have an accurate answer.
Didn't this flat earth idea restart in the 1800?
So which equipment are you planning on getting?
How much money has the group collected since the 1800?
The timeline of FET is much longer than that of RET, as we all know.
Incorrect, unless you count the pre-Babylonian period.
As is well known, the Babylonians did believe in a locally flat earth, but with a completely different
cosmology from the "modern (post 1800) flat earth movement".
The Babylonian model did, in fact, explain observations (sunrise, sunsets, eclipses etc) quite well, but the "modern flat earth model" does not explain many very simple observations.!
But, from around 300 BC to the present day, the Globe earth has been shape accepted by all but a few.
Both the early church and early Islamic astronomers and scientists without a doubt accepted the (geocentric) Globe.
I can readily give plenty of evidence for this if asked!
There was a time in the 1800's when open debate on Earth shape occurred. It is well known that these public forums were well attended by round Earth believers and the FE claims were very convincing with a record of winning debates.
The 20th century is marked by a period of RE over-saturation and this momentum lingers today but is appropriately dwindling.
Open forums discussing Earth shape are long past due. It is only the FE side that remains vigilant to the cause of open and public Earth shape discussion.
Believe you me, if funding is put up providing opportunity to forever put RET to rest, a team of FEers will be ready to do the work involved in short order.
I think your idea of "a time in the1800's when open debate on Earth shape occurred" is nothing more than a few like Rowbotham going around pushing misleading ideas.
The motive of these "1800's flat earthers" understandable, but they quite erroneously associated Darwinism with the Globe earth, but there is not and never has been the slightest connection.
In closing, I would like to stress that the Babylonian model did explain observations and the Babylonians made great advances in astronomy.
The modern day flat earthers, on the other hand, seem to do their best to ignore astronomy - those "little lights in the sky".