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.
