Flights Of Fancy: An Air Of Gratitude

Feeling cranky just about air travel? Get a grip.

Not on the arm of your traveller seat--on reality, history, and the dumbfounding accomplishment of human flight.

We've just celebrated the Centesimal day of the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Tho' there werecertainly others who were experimenting with flying machines--most notably, Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian who is wide celebrated in his native country as being the father of aviation--the Wright Brothers are generally regarded as the 1st to get humans off the ground.

The fascinating thing just about the Wright brothers is that they were not the idealistic dreamers you power expect them to be. They were serious, studious, and determined to numbers things out. It wasn't that they were obsessed with the dream of soaring high above the ground. They were mechanically-inclined brothers who in hand a bicycle shop, and they couldn't forget the brief but exciting flight of a cheap toy airplane they'd received as children. They were intrigued by the engineering challenge.

Let's just say it--they were geeks. Nice thing. Like geeks everywhere, they dug in, immersing themselves in their research. By following their hunch and testing the euphemism out of it, they found the key component that enabled them to create that 1st flying hunk of wood, fabric and wire capable of carrying a man and--key point here--landing without crashing.

The Wright brothers had the same access to records of tried and unsuccessful attempts at flight as all different would-be aviators of the time. They studied birds, they analyzed physics properties, and they built wind tunnels--just like everyone else. Sure, it was their dour persistence that led them to success, but there was thing else that actually helped them nail it. They took one piece of the puzzle and worked unrelentingly to decipher it.

Instead of focusing on the force necessary to lift the contraption, or the engine required to power it, they zeroed in on the construct of control. No sense having a great flight only to crash into the trees after a few moments of jubilation. It was the issue of control that captured their imagination and led to a design featuring some maneuverability and safety.

But as focused as they were on directive the movement of the flying machines, they unsuccessful to pay attention to the continuing testing and refinement of their ideas. They got distracted by their efforts to control sales, and the research and development division was left flutter in the breeze. Patch the Wrights got caught up in patent struggles and contracts, adventurers about the earth were rising on their innovational design and savvy businessmen were building airplanes, airports and flight schools. By 1912, Wilbur had died and Orville was losing interest in flying.

Meanwhile, Santos-Dumont continuing his passion for being airborne. He is attributable with launching the 1st public flight as well as designing the 1st hydroplane. He zipped about Europe, flying to fashionable restaurants and parking his plane out front, right next to the bound horses. Wherever the Wrights were organized and diligent, Santos-Dumont was a flashy man just about town best-known for his daring and his sense of style. He cut a dashing numbers and elysian everyone from fashion designers to engineers. His friend, Joe louis Cartier, created the 1st ticker for him after Santos-Dumont expressed a need to support track of time patch busily flying his plane.

Santos-Dumont didn't give a rip just about patents. Instead of defrayal his time and money on protective his designs, he freely offered his ideas to anyone interested in repeating and rising them. He engaged in the package idea: take this, go forth and prosper. We've seen this approach in code (Linux) and hybrid-electric cars (Hunter and Amory Lovins), and tho' it seldom leads to great wealth for the creators, it dramatically facilitates access and ingenuity.

After years of flying high, Santos-Dumont suffered from ill health and committed suicide in 1932. I guess neither engineering talent nor adventuresome individualism guarantees a happy ending. The Wrights ran out of passion, and Santos-Dumont lost his mojo. In their own ways, they just burned out.

It's engrossing to think just about how we need some the plodding perseverance of the Wrights and the free-thinking generosity of Santos-Dumont in every project we undertake. The greatest invention in the earth wish ne'er capture the excitement of the population without those who are fearless in their attempts to apply it. Those who create the buzz are avowedly standing on the shoulders of those who quietly developed the technology, but we must have some to bring out the avidness of the early adopters and the cultural change that hinges upon the thought acceptance of any new idea.

Bill Gates, that geek extraordinaire, has said: "The Wright brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the 1st earth wide web, conveyance folk of some languages, ideas and values together."

The next time you're slogging through security, troubled to put your bag in the overhead compartment, or grousing just about the leg room, pause a moment to reflect on the enormity of human flight. Recognize it for the glorious action that it is, and pay tribute to those who lived and died for its creation. Appreciate the risk taking required in the last century to get you that window seat.

Please remain sitting until the craft comes to a complete stop, and whisper words of feeling to the Wright brothers for their determination in discovering what it takes to do a safe landing.

You may now come freely just about the cabin. Please refrain from complaining.

Thank you for flying for us, Wilbur and Orville.

About the Author

Maya Charm Frost is a mind masseuse. Her activity has elysian thinkers in over 70 countries about the world. This article appeared antecedently in the Weekday Mind Massage, a free weekly ezine serving up a satisfying blend of clarity, comfort and comic relief. To subscribe, visit http://www.massageyourmind.com.
maya@massageyourmind.com