WINGS assignment #1

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

            Flight was not initially pursued by man due to a large variety of factors. One of the most prominent being the necessary knowledge developed in the thousands of years leading up to even the first documented sparks of interest in the idea of exploring the skies. Despite the proper materials people have not always had the insight into what makes flight work. These ideals were developed from many years of advances in areas of technology and science from many sources of wisdom. “Simple as they seem, such gliders evolved from centuries of brilliant insights in physics and engineering, of data gathered with specific instruments, of forays down countless blind alleys, and of a thousand difficult lessons learned.” (p 20) One of the first documented experiences with liftoff of objects from the earth involved the relatively simple concept of heat rising; therefore imagine how such a leap toward man built flight machines could spring forth from so little insight.

            From the idea of physics of buoyant flight in the seventeenth century, came the spark of honing the resource of gases to develop the first balloons in the eighteenth. Even those with the biggest impact on this curiosity including Joseph Black, Cavendish, Lavoisier, and Montgolfier were just laying the basic foundation for what would one day develop into modern flight. This idea quickly developed into reality of large scale balloons even including passengers thanks to French lecturer Charles’ development and advancement of experiments before him. Even at this time, “the notion of building wings that could carry us into the sky had seemed so impious, arrogant, and outrageous as to be the very definition of impossible.” (p 24)

            The kite was another early development that played into the influence of flight. Kites were developed as early as the ancient Chinese who gave the crafted piece many uses. While seeming so far from the engine driven technology we see today, Cayley’s ground breaking “flying parachute” was inspired by a small toy. This just goes to show the vast amounts of science and inspiration that have played into the history of the development of flight.

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

            The United States was less than enthusiastic to jump aboard the Wright brother’s rather secretive invention. This hesitancy was in part understandable due to the lost investment of $50,000 into the failed Langley project to bring potential flight to the US Army. Further loss of money into a very newly developing “spark” across the world seemed like the appropriate choice without assurance of success this time. While the Wright’s were well aware of their success, they were also very careful in sharing information with others on the trail of flight during this time period. They were granted a patent for their invention in 1906, just under three years from that now-famous December day at Kitty Hawk. The lack of press and very minimal circulating photos of flight along with their protective ways in regards to early flight may have also played a large role in the disbelief of potential buyers.

            The strongest interest came from European governments much more so than the US. Investigation of the mysterious brothers from both England and France resulted in nothing. Both failures to sell were attributed to the brother’s resistance to demonstrate flight until after a contract was signed. From there the Wrights even used a firm Charles Flint and Company to help facilitate sales who “arranged for the Wrights to visit Europe in 1907, where they met with military and political authorities but failed to strike and immediate bargain.” (p 83)

            Finally in January of 1908, the US Army accepted a bid from the Wright brothers under specifications regarding the performance. A second came from France in March of the same year “that would also have the right to produce and sell Wright aircraft under licensure” (p 83) Both sales brought the brothers back out into the practice field  after months of no active flight to prepare for the demonstrations allowing for the completion of these sales. This was a large step in the widespread recognition of the Wright brothers success in flight.

7. When and what was La Grande Semaine d’Aviation de Champagne and what significance does it have in aviation history?

            In 1909 the world was ready for what would be the “grand unveiling” of winged flight. Pilots and visitors alike were invited to come either participate in or watch as history unfolded at the rectangular flying course. Not only were prizes offered in competition, but this gave up-and-coming aviators a chance to prove their design superior to others. This week long display of flying brought in aviators prepared to show off their inventions at the Plains of Bethany in France. Hosts spared no expense when it came to welcoming visitors with special boxes to be rented for comfortable views for the week, onsite dining, and champagne for sale due to the funding of the event provided by leading regional producers.

            This was a huge milestone in the sense of the massive growth of aviators’ success just within the months before the event. “Prior to December 31, 1908, a grand total of seven humans had made flights longer than one minute. At Reims, only eight months later, twenty-two airmen coaxed twenty-five airplanes into the air for a grand total of over 120 take-offs, 67 of which resulted in flights of more than three miles.” (p 115) Although the Wrights did not attend the event, they did allow for some of their aircraft to be flown by their pilots who they had taught to fly. Other pilots in attendance included Blériot, Farman, Esnault-Pelterie, Latham, and the Voisin brothers. All portrayed unique perspectives of the development of winged flight through their creations in the air which allowed for spectators to observe directly the benefits and shortcomings of these various designs. This pivotal moment in history marked the transition from the experimentation with powered synthetic flight to molding it into a worldwide technology that would sprout forth from these aviators’ ideas and foundations for decades to come.