Search DominoPower's 11,964 Lotus-related article archive 
Home
EasyPrint
News details Click here for the RSS feed's XML code. This is not a browser URL.
Articles-only Click here for the RSS feed's XML code. This is not a browser URL.
Twitter Feed Click here for the Twitter feed.
100 YEARS OF FLIGHT
The Wonder Machine
By Stephen Till

About this special series
This article is one in our series honoring 100 years of flight. Be sure to read the fifteen articles across all our magazines for some amazingly powerful stories in honor of this special anniversary. Links to all the articles in the series are included at the end of this article.

As I am sitting at my computer writing this, I could, at any moment, get up from my desk chair, get in my car with my wife, drive to my local airport in Massachusetts, rent a small airplane like that shown in Figure A, and fly ourselves to California to visit our daughter in Santa Barbara.

FIGURE A


Stephen Till stands beside a small airplane. Roll over picture for a larger image.

I would like to spend a few minutes explaining the three things that make this remarkable fact possible.

First we should look at the technology.
We need to acknowledge the two young entrepreneurs who started this whole ball of wax. I am referring to the Wright brothers. They took the best technology they could get their hands on, and used their knowledge and skilled hands to produce a man carrying gasoline-powered flying machine. They were the first of many people who helped develop manned flight from a dream into a very practical reality.

Aircraft in the twenties, thirties and forties were the playthings of the rich or extensions of the national will. However, after the Second World War, aircraft manufacturers produced many inexpensive personal aircraft with an eye to the average citizen. These manufacturers were not the only people making airplanes. The "homebuilding" movement, which started in the fifties, made possible the design, construction and flying of many varied and innovative personal aircraft by people with modest incomes and great ideas.

Today personal aircraft are built in many ways, using myriad techniques from the traditional "rag and tube" construction invented in the twenties to forming modern composites. The price range for small aircraft runs from a few thousand for a kit aircraft that you can build and fly yourself to several hundred thousand for a smooth aerodynamically advanced factory built aircraft with state of the art instrumentation.

Second we should look at the airspace.
It is amazing that we can fly two thousand miles to Santa Barbara without much preparation or paperwork.

We wouldn't need to do much preparation because there is a complex, yet easy-to-use set of navigational aids, which will help me find my way to the West Coast. There are also numerous airports along the way where I can buy food, gas and get the government-provided weather forecast for my route.


1  ·  2  ·  Next »
Other articles you might like
Home > Special Reports > 100 years of powered flight (5 articles)
   Celebrating flight across the years and across the magazines
   The age of romance
   Faster than the sun
Get Weekly Email Updates
Subscribe to our regular weekly email newsletter. It's packed with tips, reviews, deep analysis, and the latest news.
 
Recent DominoPower Articles
It's time for Lotus to double-down on Linux and open source
Back to basics with Notes: what you can do now
Back to basics with Notes: what are the basics?
Back to basics with Notes
Smart Upgrade bug in Domino 8.5.1 (and some work-around tips)
Hands-on with XPages and the Lotus Solutions Catalog
A tool for migrating Exchange to Domino
Latest Lotus Headlines
IBM Lotus Quickr for WebSphere Portal 8.5 - Various Notes on Administration
Attachment Viewer on Steroids
Admin tip: Predictor, a pregnancy test for your Domino server
Lotus Traveler Webinar
Domino 8.5.1 mail routing problem solved
A small tip for upgrading your XPages apps from 8.5.1 to 8.5.2
What is in your plugin_customization.ini?
>> Read all the news
More from the ZATZ journals
Computing Unplugged: Smartphone smarts for a mobile world
David Gewirtz Online: CNN commentary and analysis
OutlookPower: The strange case of Outlook losing notes and requiring passwords
-- Advertisement --

Navigate the Document 'SharOllaboraGement' Universe
More than 60% of organizations are dealing with 'Content Chaos' -- Out of control Documents and Content.

Unfortunately, over 50% of those will rush into the wrong solution and ultimately fail.

The Document & Content Management Decision Matrix is a free tool for navigating the broad 'Document Sharing, Collaboration and Management' technology universe.

Use it to help you make the right decision based on your organizational preferences and needs.

Tap to download this complementary tool.

-- Advertisement --

Write for DominoPower today!
Share your experience and expertise with other Lotus Notes and Domino users, administrators, and developers. DominoPower Magazine has grown nicely and now has new opportunities for contributing authors and editors.

Write about something you're an expert on and get your name in lights.

For Writers' Guidelines and to discuss topics, contact Staff Editor Joe Dolittle. This is your opportunity to shine in front of your peers, your clients, and Lotus.

Click for more info!

ZATZ Home  ·  News  ·  Back Issues  ·  Credits/Trademarks ·  Link To Us
Copyright © 1998-2010, ZATZ Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.
Editor's Login