Fly, flew, and flown: The beauty of airplanes

We are curious creatures by nature. The moment we see something extraordinary, we start wondering about its origins and future. Not only that, but we also start wondering about why the thing works the way it does. It is obviously human nature. To speculate is to learn. To speculate is to progress.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day.”

- Albert Einstein.

We looked at the stars and we wondered why they are the way they are. We looked at the ocean and we wondered why it is the way it is. We looked at other life and we wondered how it is the way it is. Nothing unusual, but we looked at the birds and wondered how they fly the way they fly.

Apart from curiosity, humans are also naturally jealous beings. We are jealous of the one who has something we don't. Jealous might not be the proper word here but unsatisfactory is. Humans can never be satisfied. So, we looked at the birds and envied their wings. We envied their aerodynamic bodies and we envied their flights.

We are hard-working, over-achieving creatures. We come, we see, we conquer. We came to the Earth, we saw the birds, and we conquered the ability to fly.

Humans have been wanting to fly for as long as any document can tell. In 1799, George Cayley set forth the concept of the modern fix-winged airplane with separate systems for lift, propulsion, etc. But, that's not as far as this goes.

Some examples: (Credit: History of Flight- NASA)

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Greek Legend - Pegasus Bellerophon the Valiant, son of the King of Corinth, captured Pegasus, a winged horse. Pegasus took him to a battle with the triple-headed monster, Chimera.

Icarus and Daedalus - An Ancient Greek Legend Daedalus was an engineer who was imprisoned by King Minos. With his son, Icarus, he made wings of wax and feathers. Daedalus flew successfully from Crete to Naples, but Icarus was tired to fly too high and flew too near to the sun. The wings of wax melted and Icarus fell to his death in the ocean.

King Kaj Kaoos of Persia King Kaj Kaoos attached eagles to his throne and flew around his kingdom.

Alexander the Great Alexander the Great harnessed four mythical wings animals, called Griffins, to a basket and flew around his realm.

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There were also mentions of the airplane as Vimana in ancient Indian Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. To gain more insight into this topic, visit The History of Flight by NASA.

In all of these ways, we have had the urge to reach the skies. And we did. We reached the skies and beyond. In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were more sophisticated models of airplanes that could potentially work. These were designed by Engineers, Architects, Scientists, and more. They included George Cayley's Glider, Lilienthal's Glider, Langley's Aerodrome, Wright Brothers' Glider, and Wright Brothers' Flyer. Wright Brothers, as all of us already know, were the first ones to fly, but they weren't the first ones to design an aircraft.

The Wright Flyer was a powered and controlled aircraft. It was not just a glider depending on the speeds of the wind to fly. It featured a 12- horsepower engine, powering two pusher propellors. It had a maximum speed of 48 km/hr, and a maximum take-off weight of 338 kgs.

Modern-day airplanes have a maximum speed of 555-1100 km/hr and a maximum take-off weight of about 80,000 kgs, and a horsepower of 400.

The 1904 Wright Flyer.

(Image Credit- Wright-Brothers.org)

The difference is crazy. It is very obvious that humans have made huge progress in just under a century. On December 17, 1903, The Wright Flyer made its first flight on December 17, 1903. On February 8th, 1933, just 30 years later, the first modern passenger airliner, Boeing 247, took its first flight. Just 30 years apart, humans went from flying 48 km/hr to 322 km/hr.

Boeing 247

(Image credit - General Aviation News)

What's even crazier about airplanes is the beauty of flight. Being above the clouds, being above the rain, and being above the problems of the world. The moment you enter the airport, you are transported to a whole new world. Flying is public transport on a scale that is unimaginable. Today, millions of people fly to their destinations. The security checks at each gate, the boarding stage, and the actual flight.

We, normal humans, don't understand airplanes to any extent. Their working is a mystery to us. The wings, the landing gears, the cabin, the cockpit, the engines, and everything in between. There are terms we don't even know of that fly airplanes. One thing I know is that airplanes fly on the basis of Bernoulli's principle.

What does Bernoulli's principle tell us?

When an airplane is taking off, the speed of the airplane is fast. Very. The particles of air collide with the wing of the airplane and due to the aerodynamic shape of the wing, the air passes from above the wing more than it passes from down below. This leads to a low-pressure zone above the wing and a high-pressure zone below. Due to the difference in pressures, the wing is pushed upward and consequently, the airplane is pushed upward. The same phenomenon is observed during storms when the rooftops are blown away. The higher speeds of wind above the rooftop create a difference in pressure and the rooftops are blown away.

(Image Credit - Geeks for geeks)

All of this, and we still don't understand the workings of an airplane. The engineering work that goes into it is immense. It's extraordinary. What we don't understand looks like a miracle to us, and airplanes are miracles. Reaching heights up to 30,000 feet in the air and still having enough oxygen to breathe, still having little to no fear of falling down (might vary), still having fun looking at the clouds, and still eating your favorite snacks is an amazing experience, I have to say. Commercial airplane tickets, due to their ever-increasing use, have become cheaper than ever.

Did you know?

You lose a bit of your taste on airplanes at crazy heights, due to slight inactivation of your taste buds. This will make bland food taste more delicious than it normally would be. Food that you eat on the airplane won't taste as good on land.

Being above everything that you know, above everything you've ever experienced, and everything you ever will experience is absolutely an authentic amazing experience.