Flying Machine
The invention of the flying machine changed humanity. It
changed the way and the speed at which we travel. It made the
world seem a little smaller as people and places in distant
lands suddenly seemed much nearer by the lessened time it would
take to reach them. It increased our communication between
people and nations as they could travel across oceans and meet
in person rather than communicating by letters or other
non-personal means. Flying quickly became a recreational sport,
an attractive career, and an appealing science. It lifted man
into the skies, where before he only dreamt of going. It freed
us from the confines of this earth upon which we live. Flight
drastically changed the way wars are fought. Suddenly nations
were no longer protected by standing armies at their borders. A
plane could easily fly over their borders and attack a city deep
in the heart of a country. Planes were merciless war machines
dropping bombs on cities, respecting neither soldiers nor
citizens. All were vulnerable and targets of the loads of bombs
dropped by planes. Later other uses of airplanes were created,
more recreational and sporty, such as the model airplane and the
radio control airplane.
The airplane model is a replica of the larger, real
planes that are or were actually flown. From the first plane
flown by the Wright Brothers to our modern aircraft and space
shuttles, you can find model airplane replicas. The replicas
consist of planes flown in all of the wars, from many different
countries. Each country was always trying to outdo the others in
their command of the skies. In the days of airplanes, if you
controlled the skies, you controlled the war. This competition
between countries led the quick development of a variety of
different types of fighting military aircraft. The more
effective types of planes were quickly adopted by all of the
countries, however, and nations began selling airplanes to other
nations, so that now many countries have similar sophisticated
and modern military aircraft.
With all of this in mind, a model airplanes hobby can obviously be, not just
some little simple thing that people do, but it can teach about
history and science. One can learn about modern military
aircraft right alongside with the plane flown by the Red Baron
in WWI. One can learn the evolution of the aircraft; the
different types of planes and styles that countries developed
and built upon or discontinued. Currently there are very many
modern developers of airplanes. There are even more airlines
that are supplied by these airplane manufacturers. If you are at
all interested in aviation, what better way to start than to
purchase your own model airplane and begin learning the history
of airplanes?
There are also radio control
airplanes. This side of a model airplane hobby may focus
more on the science and actual flight of airplanes. Model
airplanes work according to the same laws of science and physics
as a real airplane. They use the same laws of thrust and lift.
The wings, tails, and propellers of a model all have to be built
according to the same principles of flight. The model airplane
can stall in the air or crash similar to real plane.
Not surprisingly, the airplane and its offshoot developments
are continuing to change humanity, from their wars, their
communications, their travels and finally to their hobbies. Who
knows what will happen next, where the airplane will lead us
next. But it is obviously important to take a part in this
continuing human experiment in aviation and flight, even if you
just start with a model airplane or radio control airplane.