National Aviation Day: Some Perspective

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 08/19/2016 at 11:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history

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Wilbur and Orville Wright made their famous First Flight on December 17, 1903. Orville Wright, whose birthday we observe today as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , was 32 years old, and was at the controls of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that morning having won a coin toss with his brother, who ran alongside and is shown in this remarkable photograph. On October 14, 1947, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! broke the sound barrier flying the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and three months later, on January 30, 1948, Orville Wright died (Wilbur died in 1912 at age 45 from typhoid fever). Thus, the world went from a 12-second flight at 6.8 mph to 700 mph in the span of just 44 years.

Much has been written about the remarkable pace of technological advancement in aviation. These photographs illustrate those two monumental events, not just in aviation history, but in human history, both of which occurred within the lifetime of one man.

US Library of Congress

US Air Force

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > ttyymmnn 08/19/2016 at 11:36

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Chuck Yeager’s so ‘Murica I can’t even.

Chris Clarke > ttyymmnn 08/19/2016 at 11:39

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What I can’t understand is if we can get from 6.8 to 700 mph in 44 years, why have we gone another 70 and still don’t have our own personal supersonic flying cars by now?

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 08/19/2016 at 11:39

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More perspective: The first flights of the B-29 and the B-52 were less than 10 years apart.

For Sweden > Chris Clarke 08/19/2016 at 11:45

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Compressible flow combined with pressurized cabins is though.

Jayhawk Jake > Chris Clarke 08/19/2016 at 11:46

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Point of diminishing marginal returns.

Also, that last 100 mph is super difficult.

HammerheadFistpunch > For Sweden 08/19/2016 at 11:48

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Sure with that attitude

Leadbull > Jcarr 08/19/2016 at 11:51

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Same with the B-52 and the A-12.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 08/19/2016 at 11:51

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And the B-52 may have a 100 year service life.

ttyymmnn > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/19/2016 at 11:52

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But even he could not sell the F-20

Chris Clarke > Jayhawk Jake 08/19/2016 at 11:56

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70 years!!!!! We went from zilch to sound barrier in 44 and your trying to tell me a measly 100 mph is a little hard?

I’m being a little tongue and cheek, but I truly believe there must be some sort of innovation decline in the last half century for whatever reason.

Jayhawk Jake > Chris Clarke 08/19/2016 at 12:33

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That’s not fair at all. There hasn’t been an innovation decline, it’s just been less flashy.

In the last 15 years or so we’ve gone from cockpits like this:

To cockpits like this:

Over the last 20 years the widespread use of CFD has made aircraft significantly more efficient and quieter. Engine technology has advanced significantly to improve efficiency, reduce noise and emissions.

Inside aircraft are quieter and carrying far more technology for passenger comfort, reliability has gone up, maintenance costs have gone down, and safety has continuously improved.

No, we aren’t flying around in hypersonic space ships but that was never going to be practical so the research hasn’t gone that way.

RallyWrench > ttyymmnn 08/19/2016 at 12:40

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And 22 years after that, we rode the most powerful machine ever constructed by humanity to that point to the moon. The damn moon . And then we put a car on it. The pace of development was unprecedented and hasn’t been equaled since.

RallyWrench > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/19/2016 at 12:44

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I just watched The Right Stuff again a few weeks ago, I had forgotten Chuck was in Pancho’s, I freaked out a little. My wife thought it was weird.

jariten1781 > Chris Clarke 08/19/2016 at 12:50

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I wouldn’t take it as decline, just shift when we hit diminishing returns. The really big innovations in the second half of the century was all in the computing space.

Aside: We’re also wayyy more risk averse today. Safety culture is all good and stuff, but it substantially retards innovation. When I'm mining old programs for BOEs I'm continually astounded by how fast things could move without the safety/regulatory leashes. Just the other day I was looking at one where they went from development decision to requirements to manned prototype testing in less time than it takes me to just go through a Safety Review Board process to get initial requirements approved....

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > ttyymmnn 08/19/2016 at 14:23

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Norhtrop was the underdog even then. :(

ttyymmnn > RallyWrench 08/19/2016 at 14:38

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And then we put a car on it.

Because we could. Because ‘Murica.

RallyWrench > ttyymmnn 08/19/2016 at 14:54

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We should take a mockup Hellcat up there, just because we can. Park it next to the flag for all eternity. Make it flash the lights when China rolls up.