Friday, October 30, 2009
Americans Soar Throughout Aviation History
Sixty-two years ago, a test pilot with the right stuff changed the future of aviation forever. On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager flew a Bell XS-1 off the Mach scale for 18 supersonic seconds, and America entered its second great age of aviation.
Just as the Wright Brothers’ first flight in 1903, and Lindbergh’s historic 33-hour trans-Atlantic flight to Paris in 1927, Yeager’s accomplishment was a thrilling milestone in American aviation that set the stage for further and faster things to come. Even before Yeager’s feat, the second World War was fought in the skies as the military continued to develop warplanes that eventually led us to victory. It wasn’t long before our thoughts turned to space flight and again, Americans recorded another first when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. This month also marks the anniversary of John Glenn’s return to space as a Discovery shuttle astronaut, nearly 4 decades after he became the first man to orbit the Earth, making him the oldest person to travel in space. We can’t forget the Concorde of the early 70s, with an average cruise speed of 1,330 mph!
Another history-maker, Amelia Earhart, is the subject of a film now entering theaters. And whether they can be considered movie material or not, many of us can count one of our relatives among the hundreds of heroes that took to the skies last century. Some famous and some not-so-famous, all making their mark in the history of aviation as pilots, flight crew, ground support, scientists and researchers, astronauts, and more. Who knows what astounding feats Americans will accomplish, and how many amazing frontiers will be conquered as the century progresses? It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, by motivational speaker Les Brown: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
Keep your eyes on the skies!
posted by Betty at
9:00 AM
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