Wings Assessment #1

1. What impact did flight have on life in the twentieth century?

The dawn of flight had a tremendous impact on the human race in the twentieth century. As it evolved, the record breaking Wright Flyer paved the way for aviation machines that would fight our wars, unlock 

previously difficult-to-reach cities of the earth, and enable the rapid spread of ideas to create a globalized economy. World War I was the first military conflict that involved the widespread use of the airplane. Bombers, fighters, and ground-attack airplanes were some of the names given to groups of planes for the specific role they played. The use of these planes in conflict led to massive destruction the likes of which had never been seen in any war before. Nations suffered many more casualties, thus, had to be much more strategic in their operations. The use of planes in would continue in every war that followed, as a new weapon was born.

Island colonies or nations that had many natural boundaries within them became unlocked and linked to the rest of their nation and the world thanks to aviation. The vast expanse of the Soviet Union did not seem so infinite. The mountainous regions in China now seemed more like speed bumps. The world’s massive oceans appeared more like a large puddle or a small pond. The world was connected in a way that had been previously unseen.

As commercial airlines began to spring up in the major cities across the world, people now had a much quicker, more direct route to link up with distant friends, family, or colleagues. This was the impetus for the creation of new industries that catered to the needs of these world-travelers.  Tourism began to boom and flying became a very luxurious attraction. Ideas spread and businesses previously rooted to their home nation now had the chance to become global and expand their reach. The global economy became solidified with the dawn of aviation.

  

2. Why did it take so long for man to realize the dream of flight?

“They could have done it,” is the phrase that many historians use when posed with the question of why the ancient Egyptian, Etruscan, or Carthaginian people of the world did not fly. The technology for flight existed long before it was first put into practice. However, the amount of trials and errors, physical calculations, and engineering that went into building the first gliders and airplanes took thousands of years to compile. Refined devices for measuring had yet to be developed. However, all of these arguments pertain to winged flight. Hotter than air buoyant flight was an entirely separate issue.

Evidence that balloon flight would have been possible for the Incan people of South America was evident when two scientists were carried 380 feet in the air by an aircraft called the Condor I that was made entirely of materials and assembled by processes both of which the Inca had easy access to  in their lifetime. The main theory behind why the Inca never tried it was a slip of the imagination. Technological breakthroughs often come after a eureka moment: when someone draws a connection or inspiration from something staring them right in the face. With winged-flight, this moment was the observation of winged birds soaring across the sky, or beetles and insects weaving their way between the shrubbery of forests. All the inspiration for balloon powered flight was the rising smoke from burning fires.

Seventeenth and eighteenth century philosophers paved the way for the balloon through their study of the atmosphere’s physical and chemical attributes. Realization that “air” behaved like a liquid in that it could be pumped in or out of a vessel  was a key inspiration for the thought of human flight. With the Montgolfier brothers’ balloons, the realization of the dream of flight finally came into fruition.

  

  

6. How did the United States government and other countries respond to the Wrights’ efforts to sell their invention?

As the Wright’s were perfecting their flying machine, they approached U.S. War Department officials in January of 1905. It would soon turn out that, at that juncture, there was little interest in the Wrights’ specific flying machine. This, however, was not due to the U.S. Army’s lack of interest in flying, but simply due to the lack of proof and the fact that U.S. Army support for the Langley project in 1898 ended in embarrassing failure and a waste of the government’s resources.  Without photos or flight demonstrations, the United States’ government’s hands were tied.

John E. Clapper of the British army actually visited the Wrights in Dayton in 1904. Even though it obviously showed more interest than the United States, the British government ultimately was reluctant to enlist use of the Wrights’ plane due to a desire to have a homegrown aeronautical program.

Furthermore, the French were even more intrigued than the British about the Wrights’ flying machine. A special military group of representatives visited the brothers in 1905. The kink in the Wrights’ armor throughout this entire process was their desire to keep their flying machine technology secret and protected. This limited demonstration flights and limited proof behind their claim. This put pressure on governments to make deals based on limited evidence, which wasn’t likely to happen. The French would wind up leaving with no contract signed due to the lack of a demonstration flight.

In 1908, the U.S. Army developed a list of specifications it required for an airplane and they finally accepted a bid from the Wright brothers. Months later, the French would sign a contract for a Wright airplane and it would allow a syndicate of that nation to sell further produced Wright Brothers planes. Once all of these orders were in place, it only took a few demonstration flights for them to seal the deals and cement themselves in history for eternity.