The similarities between these machines helps make the writer's point, beautifully. [Courtesy: Ben Younger]
Key Takeaways:
The article laments the decline of quality craftsmanship in a consumer-driven world that prioritizes cheap, replaceable goods and efficiency over lasting quality.
It celebrates the value of artisan-made products, such as high-performance cars and aircraft, for their superior quality, longevity, and the deep human connection they foster between creator and owner.
The author highlights the importance of retaining and valuing skilled artisans, whose work provides not just beauty but also existential safeguards, particularly in high-stakes fields like aviation.
While a resurgence of interest in craft is noted, the article challenges corporations to find sustainable economic models to preserve and innovate within these artisanal traditions.
The two machines pictured above do not conform to the rules of economy of scale. Both are made by hand to some degree, and done so to exacting tolerances in small numbers by dedicated craftsmen. Both have horizontally-opposed, six-cylinder engines. Both require a certain level of mastery to fully extract their potential. Both attract the mechanically zealous.
Both fly.
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Ben Younger is a TV and film writer/director, avid motorcyclist and surfer—but it’s being a pilot that he treats as a second profession. Find him on Instagram @thisisbenyounger.
