While David Werntz was a wonderful guest speaker, I still have my reservations about solo flight. His knowledge of the mechanics of flight was without a doubt reassuring, and I think that it is important for us to learn about too since there are many objects or processes we rely on daily that we have a rudimentary level of understanding about at best. All of us in the class have boarded a plane at least once in our lives, but many of us knew nothing about how they actually work before this lecture... isn't that strange? That while we are quick to question each other about almost anything, a complex machine has the luxury of silent authority? I'm not trying to theorize any weird conspiracies or write about how we can't trust robots, but, as evident in my midterm project, I am fascinated by how different our relationship is to machines or objects than to each other.
source: http://www.aviationexplorer.com/Various_Aircraft/USA_Domestic_Airliners_Chart.jpg
This was an image we looked at in class. While I can't tell the difference between any of these airplanes (comparing sizes, not logos) I have probably boarded a few of them and not really thought about any of their differences or how they are made... In high school I knew a kid who would always tell me about the make and model of the airplane that he was going to get on to go visit his family in Singapore and I thought he was one of the weirdest people, but maybe he had the right idea? Why wouldn't knowing about the airplane you were about to board for 14 hours be valuable knowledge?
Something else that struck me during the lecture was the strange element of luxury in being able to fly. I don't typically associate leisure with flying because I don't fly too often, and when I do it is because I need to go somewhere. The actual flight is not the luxurious part for me, but when you are flying your own airplane apparently it is! Hearing about how the flying club will play games like the flour drop or poker was sort of surreal to me. Call me a party pooper, but how insane is it that you could spend like $200 to literally play a game that required you to fly around in a plane you rented? And maybe I'm being hypocritical since I've spent half of that going to see some of my favorite bands, but it does feel strange to me.
I've been thinking a lot about luxury and flight lately and how absurd the concept is to me. Take this image for example:
source: http://www.people.com/people/greatideas/gallery/0,,20960158_30402343,00.html#30402351
What I would ask upon seeing this image is: Why the hell do you need a full meal and bougie pillows with a high thread count on a plane??? Why do you need a flat screen TV??? I can respect the spacious leg room, but that's about it. And maybe I have it wrong because I'm sure there are people who would ask: Well, why the hell wouldn't you need this? But it does seem quite frivolous to me.
Also, if we want to get more absurd... something that I forget about is the fact that we pay money to jump out of planes!
source: http://cdn.skim.gs/image/upload/v1456337585/msi/4_-_GKF4_Exiting_Aircraft_mj1c8s.jpg
According to my research one jump would cost about $300 if you wanted pictures/video of it too. It's honestly a wild concept if you think about it. I also understand that it is fun and that we are pleasure-seeking creatures, but I still think that it is healthy to question some of what we do and why in order to put things into perspective. Maybe it has to do with privilege, maybe I'm too much of a realist, or, if you're an optimist, maybe I'm too much of a pessimist? And in comparing skydiving to solo flight, the second option is much less absurd than the first. I don't think either will be in my future since I should probably spend my money more responsibly as a student, but hey, never say never.
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