For better or worse, probably worse, the act of flying
itself has never ignited great emotion out of me. I have flown enough times
where flying generally feels the same, only the destinations and passengers
around change. I have my routine and am rarely caught admiring the art of
flying, although sunsets or thunderstorms from the air are pretty rad. I also
have never had anxiety or unusual happenings on a plane, so fear has never
crept in. However, the one flying experience I remember vividly was in a
helicopter when I was 11 years old. The mystique of the smaller carrier,
coupled with the nonchalant persona of my pilot, a family friend, led to an
unforgettable experience for such a naïve pre-teen like myself. The helicopter ride
was roughly an hour long, but there were no doors (sides) on the carrier so the
flight felt like 5 min. The experience was unique because of the
personal/intimate feeling of being in such a small aircraft compared to the
large commercial planes which are so standardized.
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The helicopter experience was running through my mind when
flight instructor David Werntz spoke about the practicality and science behind
becoming flight certified. I was always skeptical of how my family friend got a
flying license as he was a middle-aged lawyer who looked to have no extensive
flying background whatsoever. However, through David’s description of the process,
and accessibility of a license the possibility of flying in the future looks
much less daunting. All I need is more time, and even more money.
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I learned a ton from David, but one of the most interesting
points I took away from his presentation was his explanation of ailerons, and
how significant that invention was to modern flying as we know it. I looked
deeper into the history of the aileron and there were some intriguing legal
battles around the device in the early days. The invention is often credited to
French experimenter Robert Esnault-Pelterie in 1904, but looking for an
alternative, American Alexander Graham Bell conceived of a device similar to the
French aileron in 1911. However, the Wright Brother’s argued there patent on
wing warping vaguely covered any form of lateral control, including ailerons. The
Wright’s sued, won and began initiating royalty demands of 20% for any airplane
built with similar lateral control. This quickly ended when World War I
intervened and the US Government got involved, the patent demands were dropped
but the true inventor of the aileron is still up for debate (Crouch).
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Works Cited:
Crouch, Tom. "Oldies and Oddities: Where Do Ailerons
Come From?" Air & Space Magazine. N.p., Sept. 2008. Web.
28 Apr. 2016.
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