This downhill track was so designed as to give the Flyer enough airspeed to fly. Two attempts were made to launch the Flyer and one led to a minor crash. Third time lucky they say and Orville Wright took the Flyer on a 12 second sustained flight on December 17, 2003, the first ever successful, powered, piloted flight in the history of man. The year 1904 saw the first flight that lasted for more than five minutes on November ninth and this time Flyer II was flown by Wilbur Wright. Thus the efforts of the Wright brothers to build an aircraft that would succeed in flying culminated in success. (the History of the Airplane: Part 3: The Wright Brothers - First Flight)
The development of the aircraft took two different angles one towards transportation and the other towards the development of a powerful air power to destroy strategic points of enemy strength in the times of war., technological advances though were complimentary to both wings of development. Airplanes were and still are a significant means of transporting from place to place people, mail, perishable goods and other cargo of logistic importance. Technological advances made faster, bigger and more durable airplanes possible. The turbojet came into existence in 1941 and ushered in the jet age. Larger and faster aircraft with the capacity to carry three hundred passengers were seen in the 1970's. The Concorde a supersonic passenger service started in 1976, but it's usage was stopped in 2003 as the aircraft was not commercially viable. The a 380 super jumbo jet is expected to go into active service in 2006. It will carry five hundred and fifty five passengers in two decks making it the largest passenger aircraft in history. (Transportation)
The use of aircraft for military purposes known as military aviation was first seen in the First World War and from that time aircraft have developed from an unreliable flying device into a sophisticated weapons system with tremendous complexity that has revolutionized how war is conducted. Military commanders today have many different kinds of aircraft...
Military aviation has changed all the old practices in war making civilians at home as vulnerable to attacks as the soldiers in the front lines of a battlefield. (Military Aviation) the NASA experimental aircraft with a revolutionary scram-jet engine flew at nearly ten times the speed of sound, precisely 9.8 mach or 7000 mph setting a new record in speed for aircraft. This development could see the speed of transportation increase dramatically and people may be able to span the globe in the matter of hours. This will also provide an increased cutting edge to military aviation too. (NASA;s X-43A Scramjet Breaks Speed Record)
In conclusion should the Wright brothers and the society they lived in get an opportunity to see where a small step of a twelve second flight has reached in terms of development and utility, they would be both amazed and more than satisfied as far as the development in the transport industry is concerned, but would be dismayed to see the developments in military avionics, which has changed the product of the dreams of man to fly, into a tool of death and destruction.
References
History of the Airplane" Retrieved at http://www.first-to-fly.com/History/History%20of%20Airplane/history.htm. Accessed on 12/14/2004
Military Aviation" Retrieved at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761579466/Military_Aviation.html. Accessed on 12/14/2004
NASA's X-43A Scramjet Breaks Speed Record" Retrieved at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/x43-main.html. Accessed on 12/14/2004
The History of the Airplane: Part 3: The Wright Brothers - First Flight" Retrieved at http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_wright_brothers.htm. Accessed on 12/14/2004
Transportation" Retrieved at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761558787_2/Transportation.html. Accessed on 12/14/2004
