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View Full Version : It Was 100 Years Ago Today - What Does It Mean To You?



MagicMtnDan
12-17-2003, 08:44 AM
The first successful sustained powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine were made in North Carolina by Wilbur and Orville Wright on December 17, 1903. A 60-foot granite monument dedicated in 1932, is perched atop 90-foot tall Kill Devil Hill commemorating the achievement of these two visionaries from Dayton, Ohio.
Click here for a link to the National Park Service site for Kill Devil Hill in NC, site of the Wright Brothers first flight (http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/)
http://www.tl.infi.net/~docwrite/ColorCatalog/Wrights1.jpeg
Like many technological advances, powered flight has made our lives significantly richer. From allowing us to travel to places we otherwise probably wouldn't have seen to shipping/receiving products around the world, we all benefit in many ways from powered flight. Since I was a little boy I have always loved airplanes and aircraft. This is an exciting day and it's amazing to think about how far powered flight has come in 100 years!

My Man's Sportin' Wood
12-17-2003, 10:30 AM
I heard on the radio this morning that they are having a ceremony today to rename the Burbank Airport the "Bob Hope" Airport. Not too sure why, but I think it's cool to name anything after Bob Hope after all he did for our troops. His humor and wit will be sorely missed.
Big celebrations in Kitty Hawk, NC and Ohio today, I'm sure.

058
12-17-2003, 10:42 AM
The flight was late and they lost Wilbur's luggage....it has gone down hill from there.:D

LaveyJet
12-17-2003, 10:47 AM
Wright Bros first flight 120 feet in 12 seconds.
SR71, 9 miles in 12 seconds.

Essex502
12-17-2003, 01:04 PM
Without flight we wouldn't have international travel - terrorists, September 11, nuclear bombs dropping on Japan, SARS in North America, worry about bio-terrorism, billions spent on a war in Iraq that most of the people in the U.S. don't support, etc., etc., etc....

MJ19
12-17-2003, 01:11 PM
Well without flight my hubby wouldn't be able to fly home today...and that would make me very sad...so YEAH for planes!!! :D

Essex502
12-17-2003, 01:21 PM
Originally posted by MJ19
Well without flight my hubby wouldn't be able to fly home today...and that would make me very sad...so YEAH for planes!!! :D
But remember...he wouldn't have been away (by plane) to begin with!

MJ19
12-17-2003, 01:23 PM
Originally posted by Essex502
But remember...he wouldn't have been away (by plane) to begin with!
Like I said...YEAH for planes :p
Little girlie "cave time" needed now and then too ya'know :D

Infomaniac
12-17-2003, 04:04 PM
Originally posted by Essex502
Without flight we wouldn't have international travel - terrorists, September 11, nuclear bombs dropping on Japan, SARS in North America, worry about bio-terrorism, billions spent on a war in Iraq that most of the people in the U.S. don't support, etc., etc., etc....
Thats about the stupidest thing I have read in a while.
Not a secret I am an Airline Maintenance Supervisor.

Jbb
12-17-2003, 04:10 PM
Originally posted by Infomaniac
Thats about the stupidest thing I have read in a while.
Not a secret I am an Airline Maintenance Supervisor.
Really ...
You also would not have
-Angel flights.. Bringing People in need of critical medical treatments to the cities those treatments are in...For Free
-Disaster aid ...Flown in supplies and volunteers to disaster areas within hours.....
Professional sports teams you enjoy on tv...Playing on one coast tonight and another tomorrow...

SMFRiverRat
12-17-2003, 06:45 PM
Having been in aviation for over 20 years, I cannot imagine doing anything else.
All the hard work and primitive parts that went into the Wright Flyer is a tribute to the hard working American way.
Besides...I like the view.

Sleek-Jet
12-17-2003, 06:48 PM
Originally posted by SMFRiverRat
Having been in aviation for over 20 years, I cannot imagine doing anything else.
All the hard work and primitive parts that went into the Wright Flyer is a tribute to the hard working American way.
Besides...I like the view.
Here here. Just for shits and grins, I took the 182 up today.
I can't imagine my life without aviation.

H8Monday
12-17-2003, 09:12 PM
Here is a video of the attempt at re-enacting the first flight.Todays re-attempt at flight (http://g.msn.com/0VD0/00/00?m=n_wrightbros_attempt_031217&csid=Msnbc)

Kilrtoy
12-17-2003, 09:51 PM
It was the day that the two fools created that thing that scares the shit out of me.....

MagicMtnDan
12-17-2003, 10:06 PM
Originally posted by Sleek-Jet
Here here. Just for shits and grins, I took the 182 up today.
I can't imagine my life without aviation.
If you have a P-38 Lightning I definitely want to see it in person and I will beg you to take me up in it (if there's any way you can fit a 2nd person in it)!
That is a VERY cool aircraft! (in your Avatar)

Sleek-Jet
12-17-2003, 10:19 PM
Originally posted by MagicMtnDan
If you have a P-38 Lightning I definitely want to see it in person and I will beg you to take me up in it (if there's any way you can fit a 2nd person in it)!
That is a VERY cool aircraft! (in your Avatar)
No, unfortunately I don't have a P-38. That Lefty Gardner's "White Lightning" .
I own a '59 Cessna 182, a classic. But not nearly as cool as a P-38.

Dr. Eagle
12-17-2003, 10:22 PM
Originally posted by Essex502
Without flight we wouldn't have international travel - terrorists, September 11, nuclear bombs dropping on Japan, SARS in North America, worry about bio-terrorism, billions spent on a war in Iraq that most of the people in the U.S. don't support, etc., etc., etc....
That's the spirit!!!!!!!
Every silver lining has a black cloud....:rolleyes:

Dr. Eagle
12-17-2003, 10:26 PM
Originally posted by Sleek-Jet
No, unfortunately I don't have a P-38. That Lefty Gardner's "White Lightning" .
I own a '59 Cessna 182, a classic. But not nearly as cool as a P-38.
I saw White Lightning a couple of times at the Reno Air Races. Not really competitive with all of the highly modified unlimiteds, but fun to watch it fly...
And the Wrights were geniuses ahead of their time...

Kilrtoy
12-17-2003, 10:27 PM
P-38 is the shit.....
I love watching WINGS
when they show that plane.....

Dr. Eagle
12-17-2003, 10:34 PM
Originally posted by Kilrtoy
P-38 is the shit.....
I love watching WINGS
when they show that plane.....
I love the Discovery Wings channel.
One of my Dads best friends flew the P-38 in WWII. He came over to my house with my Dad one day and I had recently gotten a new WWII aircraft book called Greatest Planes of WWII. It focused on three or four aircraft from the US, Great Brittian, Germany and Japan. The illustrations were awesome and they covered the planes and all of their variants, even test prototypes.
One of the planes covered in the book was the P-38 and I sat down with Gene and the book and he told me some stories about flying it and the quirks that it had. I loved those two hours. He was an amazing man...passionate about flight and a huge zest for life.
I have an infinite amount of respect for those that have flown military aircraft.

Essex502
12-18-2003, 06:41 AM
Originally posted by Infomaniac
Thats about the stupidest thing I have read in a while.
Not a secret I am an Airline Maintenance Supervisor.
You have to remember with every technological paradigm shift there are negatives as well as positives. Managing the negatives well is a sign of a mature society. We are not such a society.
Mark my words...the coming pandemic will be a direct result of not managing rapid global transportation. It may not occur with this influenza outbreak but it is coming.

MagicMtnDan
12-18-2003, 07:09 AM
Speaking of the P-38, here are some amazing looking aircraft and pics:
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/flying-wing-yb49.jpg
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/pix/vehic/corsair.jpg
P-38 Lightning:
http://www.photohome.com/pictures/aircraft-pictures/fighters/p-38-lightning-1a.jpg
B-25 Mitchell:
http://www.mwrneworleans.com/b-25.jpg
P-47 Thunderbolt:
http://www.319th.com/p-47big.jpg
B-24 Liberator:
http://www.warbirdalley.com/images/b24aerial.jpg
B-26 Marauder:
http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/airfield/pics/b26_bw.jpg

Laveyman
12-18-2003, 07:11 AM
Sweet pics! Some real classic birds there! Thanks.

MagicMtnDan
12-18-2003, 07:23 AM
More modern stuff...
B-1B:
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~dhuang/b-1b.jpg
SR-71 Blackbird:
http://www.zero5designs.com/sr71/planes2.jpg
Another SR-71 pic:
http://members.cox.net/packrat37/images/sr-71.jpg
An amazing pic of the F-117 Stealth Fighter:
http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/photolib/mc02/airops/sourcepix/airops10.jpg
An amazing pic of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber:
http://www.supervideo.com/b2desert.jpg
http://eunuch.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF97/dlocks/stealth.gif

XTRM22
12-18-2003, 07:33 AM
While I don't necessarily agree with Essex502's opinion, doesn't having someone willing to play Devils Advocate make these threads more interesting? For me, I don't think you can be a performance boat lover without at least having a secret jones for airplanes, way to much shared technology! I know that the tunnel tabs on a cat work kinda like (elevators, help me out aeronautical guys) a little down trim causes the tunnel to pack more air = more lift= more speed. I'm wanting to work out a seaplane ride someday, we used to watch this Grumman Albotros land on Roosevelt lake it was kind of amazing to sea the transformation from plane to boat and vice versa. I didn't even mind the fact that the guy had a wing pod that electrically lowered a jetski out of it. Very Very Cool:D Thanks for the pictures of those classic birds.
Chuck

Essex502
12-18-2003, 09:41 AM
Actually, I love planes and flying - also go to just about every airshow in SoCal. Just pointing out the negatives as well as positives.

Infomaniac
12-18-2003, 11:21 AM
Originally posted by Essex502
Without flight we wouldn't have international travel - terrorists, September 11, nuclear bombs dropping on Japan, SARS in North America, worry about bio-terrorism, billions spent on a war in Iraq that most of the people in the U.S. don't support, etc., etc., etc....
Yea there are always negatives but:
Flight is not the only form of international travel, has nothing to do with terrorists existing, Sep 11 happened at least 1,900 times before flight, and bio-terrorism has nothing to do with flight.

Freak
12-18-2003, 11:32 AM
Without flight we also would not have the technology that came out of fight to apply to other areas.

Essex502
12-18-2003, 12:53 PM
Originally posted by Infomaniac
Yea there are always negatives but:
Flight is not the only form of international travel, has nothing to do with terrorists existing, Sep 11 happened at least 1,900 times before flight, and bio-terrorism has nothing to do with flight.
The 1,900 other times that planes were purposely flown into tall buildings happened - exactly when - before "flight"?
Bio-terrorism is facilitated by the ability to rapidly move from one continent to another. Without flight the Middle East would probably not be in the state of affairs it is in let alone giving "opportunity" to readily bring terrorists to our country.

Essex502
12-18-2003, 12:54 PM
Originally posted by Freak
Without flight we also would not have the technology that came out of fight to apply to other areas.
And...specifically what technology would that be? Remeber the operative word is "flight".

MagicMtnDan
12-18-2003, 02:35 PM
Originally posted by Essex502
Actually, I love planes and flying - also go to just about every airshow in SoCal. Just pointing out the negatives as well as positives.
I understand you're "just pointing out the negatives as well as the positives" but I cannot believe that you really think the negatives outweigh the positives. So many positives have come from powered man flight. Most modern technology has been enhanced by powered flight - cars, boats, the space program and all of these accelerated development of other technologies like electronics and computers! I am stunned that anyone would say that powered man flight has been more of a negative than positive...