What's the deal with the continual referral to the historical aircraft? FS2004 is geared to it, the Discovery Wings channel is stuck on it. Ptooey!
Don't get me wrong, the pioneers of aviation development deserve much respect for paving the way for the future of aircraft--but enough!!!! Let's move on!!!!
It's a little unsettling to me that with all of our advances in today's technology, that we were unable to reproduce the works of Orville and Wilbur Wright!!! The failure at Kitty Hawk should be a sign to our aircraft makers that it is high time we bid farewell to the past, and instead of spending sooooooooo much time and effort looking back to yester-year's era of aviation, perhaps we should look towards the future and come up with NEW and IMPROVED ideas for flight.
But this is just my opinion--I could be wrong!!!!
All Comments
Some of us like history. Some of us are enterained by history. Some of us learn from history.
As to our failure to reproduce the work of Orville and Wilbur, we probably did. But reproducing the flying machine and reproducing the years of trial-and-error experience are two different issues.
I bet either the Bishop's sons would have been able to fly the new version Wright Flyer.
Long live the History Channel !!
Reproducing the weather conditions that led the Wrights to success was out of human control. That explains the 'failure' on 12/17/03. My TV has 2 great features: a on/off button and a channel selector button. I use them when I don't like what I see. I bet your TV has those function too. I suggest you use them and let the rest of us enjoy history.
There is an old saying..."Those who forget history are bound to repeat it."
While 'history' is different than 'old planes' I feel compelled to speak out for the 'old planes.' While cruising along at 25,000' in a Meridian would make this old heart glad, for less money, I can be cruising along next to that Meridian in a P-51 Mustang! And that airplane is dang near old enough to collect Social Security!
I can't afford a new Skylane, but how about an old Lusxxxbe, or a Cessna 140? Those are 'affordable' planes, to some people. But, they're old planes.
Hey, how about the DC-3? How many of those are *still* working, making money for their owners? That's about as 'historical' as you can get!
So, I think that you'll find that historical planes are still a very part of today's aviation community. They may be old, but they're still flying, making them 'modern' as what's rolling out of Witchita
Gary
Well, I think there is a lot to be learned from history. Very often what is incorporated into new aircraft has roots in things tried in the past.
For example, canard wings on aircraft today go back to the Wright Flyer!
Wing warping, the technique of flexing the wing instead of using ailerons for turning, while possible with the Wright Flyer, was impossible to do in metal aircraft... yet it is a viable method for flight controlling. Only now are we able to use high tech materials in newly designed supersonic fighters being tested using this concept.
It just goes to prove that we lift ourselves on wings built from knowledge of the past... both the successes, and the failures.
Did you know, for instance, why engineers build windows in pressurized aircraft today with rounded corners? It was because a very hard learned lesson in history that cost many lives.
History is valuable... very valuable. I wonder how many times we would be re-inventing the car, or plane, and not getting very far if we didn't have an appreciation and love of history...
Having said that... I think the history of aviation covered on television is sometimes overdone on any one individual day. It would be nice, from a program scheduling standpoint, to intermix things both historical and modern more.
Just my 2 cents.
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