1. What impact did flight have on life in the twentieth
century?
Some claim that flight, more than anything else changed the
very existence of the human race. Many say this due to the positives such as
increased communication and faster transportation, which allows for further
development of technology and culture. The only thing this can be compared to
is the recent development of the digital age, in which face-to-face meetings
can happen from thousands of miles away. Both changed the way the world works.
There are also those who claim that flight has had a largely negative effect
due to its use in war. Further back, even than the civil war, armies were using
balloons to give sight to the artillery. In World Wars I and II, planes were
used to drop bombs, and shoot each other from the sky, causing widespread
devastation and involving more deaths than just those on the front lines.
However, planes can drop more than bombs, as evidenced by the Berlin Airlift in
which outside countries dropped supplies over Berlin to help those inside stay
alive. Flight has given devastated countries the ability to receive aid in a
timely manner after a disaster. In conclusion, flight had very many positive
and negative effects, but the overall impact cannot be ignored as it has
changed the landscape of the world, in more than a figurative sense.
2. Why did it take so long for man to realize the dream of
flight?
Otto Lilienthal, who achieved flight at the end
of the nineteenth century, insisted that the ancients could have realized the
same. Indeed, the materials were available and I have to believe that the will
to fly was strong even then. It is understandable that they did not achieve
powered flight, or even a glided flight like Otto Lilienthal, because they did
not have the same understanding of physics that we now do, nor had they yet
achieved powered transportation in any form. However, buoyant flight, as though
in a balloon was possible. Two balloonists constructed and flew in a balloon
made of only materials available to the Inca, and Archimedes described the
principle of buoyant flight. The only explanation that the author gives is the
lack of natural examples of this type of flight. Flight with wings was
demonstrated by birds and insects, but no animal has a balloon, so the only
example was smoke. I find it unlikely that those who did not know better would
think of harnessing the power of air, that which is so elusive how could it be
trapped. Therefore, the major reason the ancients never flew was most likely
simply a lack of imagination in those capable of the construction of a flight
apparatus.
6. How did the United States government and other countries
respond to the Wrights’ efforts to sell their invention?
The Wrights were very careful when they first developed the
ability to fly, careful to not let the secret out. The reason for this is
obvious, so many were trying to get into the air that if their designs, or even
pictures of their aircraft were made public they would likely be stolen.
Unfortunately, the governments of the world needed a little more proof. This
caused both the United States, and other governments like the French to
hesitate in signing a contract. The negotiations failed and the Wrights were
unable to sell their aircraft for a few years. Eventually, however, Wilbur made
some demonstration flights in France and Orville did the same in Virginia.
Finally, there was conclusive proof that the Wright brothers had achieved the
impossible, truly powered flight. After that, the contracts were signed and
Wilbur and Orville Wright had finally taken their rightful place in history as
well as gained the wealth to go with it.
-Matt Muhlenkamp
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