1. The invention of flight had a huge impact on life in the 20th century. As we look back at the most impactful events of the 20th century, flight was an integral part of our lives. Wars such as WWI and WWII, globalization of the world’s trade routes, transportation of resources, tourism and many more were directly affected by this invention. The text points how Chinese leader Mme. Chiang Kai-shek believed the unification of China was a result of the invention of airplanes. Many of the twentieth century’s greatest inventions such as Radio, TVs, GPS etc. are all dependent on satellites which would have been impossible without the invention of flight. While there are certainly quantitative benefits to this invention, there is something more deeply rooted in the motivation behind this invention. The text points out how since the beginning of time, man has placed God in the sky, thus making flight and the ability to fly itself a divinity. We have always envied birds for their wings, placing a great emphasis on how they represent freedom and free will. Psychologically, the ability to fly provides hope in the human spirit. Children in their early lives are fascinated by the idea of being an astronaut or a jet pilot; there is something in the human psyche that attracts us towards flight when we can’t even spell astronaut!
Not only did flight immediately impact the quality of human life in the 20th century, it laid grounds for future innovation. Drones, Curiosity (rover), as well as Elon Musk’s vision of launching global satellites so mankind can habitat Mars are all possible with the invention of flight by the Wright brothers.
2. While there has been evidence that early South Americans experimented with the idea of flight, it has not been proved that human themselves flew. The text points out the following reasons as to why it took so long for humans to master flight:
• Lack of intellect: While early humans had access to the materials that would help them build a flying device, they did not have access to the understanding of the many principles of physics that the Wright brothers and other notable innovators had.
• Lack of inspiration: In early days, flight was mostly understood as something only birds and insects possessed with the use of wings. Since humans did not have wings, and had no way of procuring wings, flight simply seemed impossible. The hot air balloon could have been mastered had the principle of rising smoke been developed further, but this never happened.
• Lack of practicality: While certain ideas rose from academic observations, they were not practical since they could not be set in motion. Lana de Terzi’s four globes is one such example
Thus, further study and understanding of chemistry and physics was needed before flight was invented. When this did occur, we saw innovators such as Joseph Montgolfier develop the idea of flight.
4. The following three methods of flight emerged by the late nineteenth century:
• Balloon: Joseph Montgolfier understood the research by Scottish chemist Joseph black as it related to air, and applied the principle that hot air rises, Joseph constructed a device with wood and taffeta, filled it with hot air and flew. He moved on to further develop this process to successfully fly balloons and lay the groundwork for future flight research.
• Helicopter: Inspired by windmills, the pinwheel lead to the creation of what we today understand as a helicopter. This device was experimented on by the Wright brothers themselves, but never succeeded since weight management was a problem that could not be conquered.
• Glider: Sir George Cayley is known as the founding father of aeronautics for good reason. He experimented with the small helicopter toy in 1796, and eventually went on to researching heavier than air flight. He crafted a flying parachute in 1804 which let him glide in the air for short periods of time. This was not only a successful invention of gliders, but also laid the foundation for winged flight.
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