Higher Sensing

To someone who has not familiarized themselves with the phenomenon of flight (like myself before this class), it seems entirely illogical that a 75 ton hunk of metal carrying x amount of human passengers and cargo could move freely through the open air to remote destinations defying gravity as it is easily understood. SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE PIONEERS OF FLIGHT THINKING?! I’d call it a death wish, but it works?????????

Of course upon greater exploration of the topic through class discussions and David Werntz’s talk, I found that there is a lot wrong with the statement I just made seeing that planes in flight DO NOT move freely in space nor deny gravity, and instead are constrained by and operate entirely in conjunction with the physical pieces of matter in air flow that consumes all existence. Learning about the aerodynamics that enable flight this week really illuminated my understanding about the density and fullness of all space in contrast with the emptiness we perceive. I think that is something we blind ourselves to regularly because of our perceptive reliance on vision.

 This concept was really illustrated for me through David’s comparison between taking in to account physical forces of air flow when turning a plane, to swimming across a river with the understanding that there is a very present and visible down stream force that will have effect on our route. The idea is the same aerodynamically but we seem to separate them because the forces of air flow on the plane are not as easy to conceive as the river flow because it is microscopic enough that we cannot see it visibly. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ltjFEei3AI

https://freetrispeed.com/tag/physics-of-triathlon/page/2/

This reliance on visual sensing seems to be an underlying gap that plays a party in our perception of why flight poses greater unknown and “danger". With that being said, in learning about the present understanding of flight and the history of discovery that got us to this point I am just impressed. The manipulation of the forces of density, weight, and inertia to produce thrust, drag, and lift in flight speaks to the growing depth of humanity’s scientific understanding about matters beyond the perception of the naked eye, and the development of alternate sensing. With this distinction it seems that there is something truly insightful and advanced about the reliance on senses and knowledge beyond what is seen, through flight. For me, I now seen pilots in a way that is extremely enlightened both scientifically and artistically. 

Something that came up for me when reflecting on the subject is an event called SeaFair held in Seattle towards the beginning of August every year. At this event people gather in and around Lake Washington on their boats and on bridges to be a spectator of the Navy's Blue Angel aircrafts as they put on a choreographed air show for the public. As I have been a spectator to this many times, I am always mind boggled by the precision of the show. With the greater understanding I have gained in these lectures I am excited to return this summer and appreciate the show in a new light.