Musing about aviation

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake) 08/15/2014 at 17:49 • Filed to: Planelopnik

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I wrote this while waiting for my flight. I'm not a writer. I just felt like sharing it.

It's 9:53 AM. I should be sitting on board a Boeing 737 listening to the same tired safety briefing I've heard countless times. Instead I'm seated in the fake leather seats in the terminal; unintentionally eavesdropping on the phone calls of 3 of my neighbors, staring not at the gleaming blue and red airliner but straight across the Tarmac at the stark white buildings of the Cessna aircraft factory.

Fellow travelers are likely tweeting complaints. "delayed 30 min, can you believe this? #flying sucks". "Can't believe I woke up so early, I could have slept in! #delayed". Others are fretting at the gate agent about the connection they will miss due to the airlines incompetence. The remainder are buried face deep in their phones and tablets, reading books, playing games, watching movies. This is just another day for them, another part of the routine. It's nothing special, flying, just a means to an end. A means to reach their destination where most of them will complain about the ride, the cramped seats, the crying children.

I don't fall into that category. As I stare at the freshly painted business jets waiting delivery to their new owners across the runway I'm simply pondering the marvel of it all. For me flying has never lost it's luster, it's never given up the romance it once had. If anything my experiences with aircraft have only served to further my awe at the whole thing.

Here I am waiting comfortably to take to the skies, and once I do it's only a 90 minute flight to Chicago. Google tells me that drive would take 14 hours. I've cut my travel time by nearly 90%, a privilege I purchased for about $250.

As I type the man sitting across from me tells his wife "ehhh I've been better, I'm stuck in Wichita. My flights been delayed, isn't it always?" I try to hide the smirk on my face. If only he knew why I was here, and the historical significance of it.

I'm traveling by air to Chicago to attend an airshow. This doesn't sound like anything special these days, but 100 years ago this would have been viewed as impossible. I likely would have been shunned from society for even suggesting this would be possible! Flying? To see airplanes fly?! FOR $250?! (Okay, in 1911 money that would be a lot. It's probably just a few dollars when adjusted for inflation)

In spring of 1911 Harold Fowler McCormick, inspired by news stories of early aviation a, decided to host an air meet in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. As August rolled around many famous aviators flocked to Chicago for a chance to win part of some $200,000 offered in prize money. On the opening day hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered on Michigan Avenue to watch 25 aircraft fly overhead. In today's world 25 airplanes aren't spectacular: few people would even notice them in the sky, but in August of 1911 this was the largest gathering of airplanes in history!

So now, 103 years later nearly to the day I'm flying to Chicago to see a show. Not unlike that famous air meet of 1911 the pinnacle of aviation technology will be on display, except this weekend that includes a plethora of aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier; a feat that wasn't accomplished for nearly 40 years after the 1911 meet. There will be an aircraft that can take off like a helicopter and cruise like a conventional aircraft: in 1911 the word 'helicopter' was still a good decade away from existing!

Another man nearby is complaining to his co worker about our 30 minute delay. All I can do is smile. I want to stand up and explain how incredible flying is, but I know it would fall unheard. 103 years ago I might have been considered a hero among the crowd at the air meet because I am an aerospace engineer, but today that fact is unnoticed. While the passengers around me shuffle to line up for boarding with sour faces, breathing sighs of relief as our aircraft finally pulls in to the gate, I walk towards the window with an unfazed grin because the reality of my situation is truly remarkable.

A mere century ago powered flight hardly existed. A mere century ago hundreds of thousands of spectators looked up in awe at the magnificent wood and cloth flying machines, wondering how their flight was even possible. And yet today, a mere century later, I'm joining millions of fellow passengers just going about their day just so I can go watch some airplanes flex their muscles in the same place that the then largest gathering of flying machines occurred a mere century ago.

Moments like this are why I love aviation so much. Next time you fly imagine those 25 airplanes over Chicago in 1911 and take a moment to realize that you aren't just traveling, you are achieving what was once considered impossible.

Chris Clarke > Jayhawk Jake 08/15/2014 at 17:54

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Fantastic point of view! I still get the same thrill when I step aboard an airliner no matter how much I feel like a sardine. The only thing I complain about is that I should be flying myself.

Mercedes Streeter > Jayhawk Jake 08/15/2014 at 17:54

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I can't wait for the day I can actually experience the pain and joy of air travel. Never been on a plane...

Abject_Penitent > Jayhawk Jake 08/15/2014 at 18:04

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Great write up. It's amazing how far our technology has come and it's even more amazing how society becomes so bored with it.

That being said, getting rammed in the wallet every time you get on a plane does take away some of the majesty.

For Sweden > Jayhawk Jake 08/15/2014 at 18:06

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...and then you get a call at 3:42 AM to grab your go-bag and hike up a mountain to find a lawyer who forgot you can't pop oxycontin and fly a Twinstar at the same time.

#AirSafetyLife

oldirtybootz > Jayhawk Jake 08/15/2014 at 18:32

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I've only flown once recently enough for me to remember, and the flight was in the early morning so there really wasn't much that could impress a tired, 17 year old me. All I really remember is the takeoff, which was very impressive, but then I fell asleep for the rest of the flight.

I had a fascination with the military when I was younger, and by extension planes. Top Gun was one of my favorite movies and I wanted to join the Navy to be a fighter pilot until I learned that the Tomcat was decommissioned. I've hated the Hornet since then for the record, but I digress. As I got older, I realized what all these machines of death really represented and became less enthusiastic about ut all, but I still look at a fighter in the way I do a sports car. They're still romantic to me, they still make me want to fly one in a dogfight, despite my distatse for war.

Flying on a commercial airliner though? Not something I enjoy. I'll get on one if I have to and it's not that I'm afraid of them necessarily, but I think of everything that can go wrong and I just want the flight to be over and done with. I'd honestly rather drive. We've driven from NY to Disney World a few times and flown once, and despite it taking almost a day, I'd honestly rather make the drive.

Jayhawk Jake > For Sweden 08/16/2014 at 00:30

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Ah, the classic oxy-controlled flight into terrain

Jayhawk Jake > Abject_Penitent 08/16/2014 at 00:32

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For most flights the cost is honestly not that bad if you're by yourself. For me to drive to a Chicago would cost nearly as much as flying, and the opportunity cost of the extra time spent on the road far outweighs the cost of the plane ticket

Jayhawk Jake > Mercedes Streeter 08/16/2014 at 00:34

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There's a surprising number of people that haven't I think. It seems so routine that it's strange to meet someone who has never flown.

Abject_Penitent > Jayhawk Jake 08/16/2014 at 01:33

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Yeah it's more of a "things used to be cheaper!" Thing.

corvairsomeday > Jayhawk Jake 08/16/2014 at 11:52

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Thanks for sharing! Gave me chills.

I'm an aero engineer too, working on the space side of things for now. I'd love to be closer to planes eventually.

Just remember: An airliner is hundreds of thousands of pounds of aluminum, steel, titanium and rubber. There's no way it should fly!!

Saf1 > Jayhawk Jake 08/17/2014 at 09:23

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Nice article! I have a love of flying and airports though the ~10 times I've flown in life, were all necessary (never been on holiday!) My love of it all doesn't stem from that history, it's a lot simpler. So much simpler that...I can't explain it! It just feels like freedom, is the crux of it :)

Also:
>not a writer
>oppo authorship ;)