Wendy Campbell WINGS #1

1.  The invention of flight had a tremendous impact on life in the twentieth century--both good and bad--and truly changed the course of history.  Flight changed the way wars were fought, and without it the events WWI and WWII would have been dramatically different.  Flight has allowed war to become deadlier than ever, but with military backing the study of flight has lead to incredible scientific discoveries and achievements.  Because of flight we have traveled faster than sound, circled the globe with ease, and walked on the face of the moon.  Even today the technology born out of and powered by flight impacts our lives everyday.  Without flight we would not have satellite TV, GPS systems, or next-day delivery from Amazon!  Flight also connected the world, opening up new avenues for commerce and allowing every-day people to travel the world (pg. 10-11).  Flight created a global connection between people:  cultures blended and changed, international aid became more effective, and diseases can spread more rapidly than ever (pg. 11).  The twentieth century, and our lives today, would be incredibly different if it weren't for the invention of flight.  Our universe would be less understood, our world less traveled, and our skies contrail free.

5.  Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved success before their contemporaries because they were truly focused on goal of powered flight and the science behind it.  The brothers made numerous studies of kites and manned and unmanned models of their craft.  When it did not behave as planned they went so far as to create their own wind tunnel and redo accepted studies to get more accurate results (pg. 65).  Part of their success came from the fact that the brothers did allow themselves to become distracted by any detail other than flight itself.  For example they did not worry about what kind of engine was in their plane, just that its weight and horsepower were adequate.  After all the "goal was to fly, not build the world's most efficient aeronautical engine" (pg. 67).  Wilbur and Orville also kept their designs as secret as possible, this allowed them to work at a slower, more scientific pace than their counterparts in Europe who were in a race to be the best.  Although this secrecy meant the Wright brothers appeared to be lagging behind on the world stage, when they did demonstrate their airplane to the world it was clear that they had truly mastered powered flight (pg. 105).

6.  The U.S. government and others were not interested in the Wright brothers' invention at first. The U.S. military was not interested because it was trying to move funds out of heavier-than-air flight.  Over the years preceding the Wright brothers' achievement, the U.S. military had been lavishly funding the failed Langley project, and was not willing to submit itself to further embarrassment (pg. 82-83).  Although governments in Europe were more interested than the U.S., the British thought that it should develop its own technology and the French were unwilling to sign on without seeing demonstrations first (pg. 83).  In 1908 their luck changed and the U.S. Army accepted a bid from the brothers.  This was followed by a licensing contract with the French (pg. 83).  After this, government interest in the craft only grew.