A general musing on aviation
Mar 30th 2015, 3:03 am
#1
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A general musing on aviation
There was recently a news article on aviation suggesting a pilot crashed his aircraft, killing all aboard, to gain some degree of temporary notoriety. This was shocking for many but on reflection perhaps this speaks to us in a meaningful way as humans.
Inherently aviation is such an inspiring pursuit. We have always dreamt of travelling to the sky, in Greek mythology Icarus and his father craft wings to escape Crete and Prometheus ascends to the heavens but Zeus punishes man sending Pandora with evil, pain and disease. We humans made stories as warnings that we could only reach so far, no further because the gods would be angry. However, as so often, curiosity tempted us to a new frontier and a few men made tentative steps to ascend to the heavens and then beyond.
Today a beautifully sculpture of millions of aluminium parts is thrust along at breakneck speed and then something astonishing happens. We exploit a battle with the rules of nature to escape a mundane, humdrum gravity and the beautiful sculpture made of hundreds of tons of aluminium does something unprecedented for most of human history, with a delicate assemble it leaves the surface of the earth behind. From here it ascends through troposphere, leaving behind the atmosphere and clouds, everything familiar to us day-to-day that we love and care about heading towards the lair of the gods in the stratosphere.
Except there are no gods, just men. Foolish, flawed and selfish men…who had become as gods by daring to ascent to the heavens. Just as Greek gods could behave capriciously and unjustly in anger to one another but…is that the legacy of men’s pursuit of the heavens? The legacy of war and pain is palpable but, as anyone who lives far from family and home will tell you, overwhelmingly joining the heavens has brought us closer as a global society. We learned more about one another by travelling and, although some would use the aircraft to inflict pain, by far the most prevalent uses have been to bring love, peace and prosperity as well as fostering understanding between previously unconnected societies.
We are not gods of the sky, we descend from the heavens with humility because we know we are fallible and love because we are human. The inherent goodness in humans prevails even if we hurt each other in meaningless ways from time-to-time.
Inherently aviation is such an inspiring pursuit. We have always dreamt of travelling to the sky, in Greek mythology Icarus and his father craft wings to escape Crete and Prometheus ascends to the heavens but Zeus punishes man sending Pandora with evil, pain and disease. We humans made stories as warnings that we could only reach so far, no further because the gods would be angry. However, as so often, curiosity tempted us to a new frontier and a few men made tentative steps to ascend to the heavens and then beyond.
Today a beautifully sculpture of millions of aluminium parts is thrust along at breakneck speed and then something astonishing happens. We exploit a battle with the rules of nature to escape a mundane, humdrum gravity and the beautiful sculpture made of hundreds of tons of aluminium does something unprecedented for most of human history, with a delicate assemble it leaves the surface of the earth behind. From here it ascends through troposphere, leaving behind the atmosphere and clouds, everything familiar to us day-to-day that we love and care about heading towards the lair of the gods in the stratosphere.
Except there are no gods, just men. Foolish, flawed and selfish men…who had become as gods by daring to ascent to the heavens. Just as Greek gods could behave capriciously and unjustly in anger to one another but…is that the legacy of men’s pursuit of the heavens? The legacy of war and pain is palpable but, as anyone who lives far from family and home will tell you, overwhelmingly joining the heavens has brought us closer as a global society. We learned more about one another by travelling and, although some would use the aircraft to inflict pain, by far the most prevalent uses have been to bring love, peace and prosperity as well as fostering understanding between previously unconnected societies.
We are not gods of the sky, we descend from the heavens with humility because we know we are fallible and love because we are human. The inherent goodness in humans prevails even if we hurt each other in meaningless ways from time-to-time.
Mar 30th 2015, 7:41 pm
#2
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Re: A general musing on aviation
An "inspiring pursuit" ? Bering hurled through the air at 500 mph while in a plastic and metal tube ?
Mar 30th 2015, 7:48 pm
#3
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Re: A general musing on aviation
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds -
and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air...........
