WINGS 3

Wings Assignment #3

Chapters 7-9

4. How did the science of meteorology relate to aviation?

In the 1930’s the last thing aviators needed to worry about was bad weather getting in the way of a safe flight. When looking ahead into bigger and better planes, safety for passengers and crew was key in the success. “In 1932, the air passenger fatality rate was 4.8 per hundred million miles flown. By 1936, that figure had more than doubled to a catastrophic 10.1 deaths per hundred million passenger miles.” (p. 275) Clearly, this was a big problem in the population’s trust in the use of aviation as a form of passenger travel due to the unsafe nature. The government even created the branches of the Civil Aviation Administration and Civil Aeronautics Board to help in the overall regulation of flight safety.

Although the founder of modern meteorology, Vilhelm Bjerknes, came before the age of tying weather in to flight, his student Carl-Gustaf Rossby was hired to show the value of a weather-reporting system. He came to the United States in 1926 to prove to the US Weather Bureau the superiority of his teacher’s system of forecast called the Bjerknes air-mass analysis system. Forecasts were radioed to stations as well as aircraft with the help of equipment loaned by the army & navy. This system was able to let a pilot know what was ahead and warn of impending poor weather that may jeopardize safe flight. The use of meteorology and the system brought to America by Rossby was adopted rapidly across the country alongside the spread of aircraft. The system of forecasting has much improved and developed since the 1920s and 1930s however this was a huge breakthrough for aviators to have a better idea of what was to come in the skies especially with the increase in very long distance flights across the country utilized in mail carrying.

13. How did the aviation industry and government encourage youth to be interested in aviation?

            The aviation industry was booming throughout the nation. It was everywhere in popular culture. With the release of movies with winged themes, the industry showed the growth in civil aviation as an emerging pastime adventure. Radio brought aviation adventures into every American’s living room even when a real plan couldn’t be in every garage. Aviators represented big-name oil companies, who knew the way to the heart of Americans was through up-and-coming aviators. Even comic strips portrayed what was on everyone’s mind in the air. Youth clubs began incorporating flight and merit badges awarded carried the theme. Airplane models were the hot new hobby that allowed America’s youth to explore the airplane at a more personal level and develop a passion in what would be one day aimed at developing a lifelong “hobby” of real aircraft. “Regarded as a wholesome, even patriotic activity that would produce a generation of pilots, engineers, and scientists, aircraft modeling quickly became an officially approved pursuit carried out under adult supervision.” (p. 314) Aircraft modeling didn’t just end in the home with a kit; organizations and schools even began competitions among youth including the creation of The Academy of Model Aeronautics in 1936.

This was the beginning of the “Air Age Eduction” that even continued into the twenty first century. Aviation was incorporated into everything. “The notion was simple enough. Children were thought to be so fascinated by aviation that virtually any subject, from science and mathematics to geography and English could be taught more effectively if only vouched in terms of the air age. Personally I remember every word problem done in math and science throughout school to have involved plane A & B and then gone on to have us calculate or answer a question based on the lesson.

            America wasn’t the only place with the encouragement of aviation on the mind of their youth. Germany had a glider training program that allowed early youth access to flight training and prepared future aviators for use of the military.

15. Why did the United States emerge as the center of aeronautical innovation prior to WWII?

            After the great accomplishments of the Wright Brothers, America took a turn in the development if aviation. During World War I other countries surpassed the United States in their feats of flight while America lagged behind weighed down with patent suits. Between the wars, American companies stepped up to the plate and began to further develop flight technology. On the other hand, while other countries aviation efforts flourished during the arms race brought on by World War I, the end of the war meant a huge drop in aviation efforts. Funding plummeted and demand was cut substantially due to the large dependency on the need for military aviation. Especially in Germany due to the Treaty of Versailles the prohibited aircraft development and lead to a halt in technologies and many of their most valued to flee the country to continue to produce. Legislation in the United States fostered an atmosphere of aviation advances which was in turn followed by an increase in investments allowing for continued funding for these new revolutionary ideas that were developed between wars while others struggled to stay afloat. Various organizations and government divisions worked toward the promotion of the aeronautics as an industry. The Guggenheim Fund was another large promoter of the time to support further research and innovation. Education flourished as well during this time and universities were even a part of this effort to build the United States up as the center of aeronautical innovation above other world powers.

            European aviators were drawn to the culture of aviation revolutions that was brewing in America even further advancing their hop ahead of the others. As one innovation after another was developed, the stakes were raised and those in the business were compelled to go above and beyond the one before leading to a strong culture of competition on top of the more readily available funding.