Frank Speranza Wings #1

1. What impact did flight have on life in the twentieth century? 

Flying opened the world. Borders between countries were no longer limited to the ground. There was a now a way to connect places by the air. Remote locales were no longer so remote. War could now be conducted through another medium. There was a new sense of freedom. “The achievement of heavier-than-air flight had a profound psychological impact... to fly is to escape restraint” (Crouch 15). A new dimension was obtained through the attainment of flight. Peoples' minds were opened to the new idea that flying like a bird in the sky was no longer a daydream of children and adults alike. 

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

The ancient civilizations had all of the necessary materials that they needed to make a flying machine. This was demonstrated by aviators in South America in 1975 (Crouch 20). They created a balloon with materials found only in the area. They proved that flight could have been achieved by the Incas hundreds of years before powered flight became a reality. The catalyst for modern flight was the spirit of invention that surrounded the time period. The realization that obstacles could be overcome and the discovery of scientific principles stirred the minds of the time and created an atmosphere that was ripe for invention.

3. When did the era of modern aviation begin and why? 

The era of modern aviation began with the Wright brothers’ invention of the powered airplane. The ability of the airplane to sustain flight for extended periods of time and the control that was able to be maintained ushered in the era of modern flight. The dream of soaring through the air at will was realized. Thus began the ear of modern flight and the improvement upon the airplane that is still occurring today. The Wright brothers showed that it was possible to construct and successfully fly an airplane. People in Europe followed in their tracks and created even better models. There was an atmosphere of competition to see who could produce the best airplane and who could fly for the longest. This competition drew the attention of governments. The Wright brothers received several inquiries about selling their airplanes, one from the American Army and one from a French group (Crouch 83). This was certainly a different time than before when it was mainly experimentation with just the hopes of flight.