The human being is like a crustacean, crawling over the bottom of the ocean of air, looking at the fish wishing to be able to swim equally through the ocean. Thus we evolve and learn to displace ourselves like birds through the air.

Do you follow? This is too big a step for you? I would like to share some thoughts with you: nowadays it is normal to displace yourself by car, in town, speeds of more than 60 mph, (100 km/h) are normal. Also on rural roads we pass each other at such speeds in opposite direction! We are used to this and from here it is a small leap to get used to travel through the air! The biggest hurdle in this might be our mindset!

Ever heard of the ‘red flag act’? This law was introduced in the UK in 1865 (and lasted for some 30 years!) and according to this law, cars were not allowed to drive faster than 2 mph (3,2km/h) in town and outside of towns 4 mph (6,4 km/h)! Besides a person should walk in front of the vehicle, carrying a red flag in order to warn people. Can you imagine? For many people living those days this was a normal matter. Through the years we got used to traffic. By the same token we can get used to the ‘new’ dimension: through the air. The biggest advantage is that we are no longer limited to roads but we can travel next to and above each other. Something like broad band internet versus the dial-up connection; the capacity to travel through the air is enormous. However, the human being is not built to travel at such speeds whether it is through the air or over land. Fortunately technology is developing with us, therefore we can travel at higher speeds than what our legs can cope with. Computers assist us more and more intensively, by regulating the fuel flow through our motormanagement or by the adaptive cruise control. Also in aviation many things have developed since the first flights but our airspace is still empty, you see?

 

In this picture below, you see Otto Lilienthal, one of the most important aviation pioneers (this replica is in a museum on Texel, Netherlands: (http://www.lomt.nl). The notes he made about wings were used by the Wright brothers to build a plane to make their famous first flight at Kitty Hawk (Picture on top of page).