Getting a pilot's license has been on my life's "to do" list for quite some time. I could go on and on about all the reasons why. Hopefully, that's what this blog will be all about.
Airplanes are glorious machines, arguably the most wonderful we as a species have ever conceived, let alone actually built. Flight enthralled the Italian futurists of the 1920s. F. T. Marinetti believed airplanes would reshape the future of humanity in a profoundly positive way. You can Google / Wikipedia all about it on your own. I humbly contend that the majority of their socially transformative power remains largely untapped.
I love examples of human ingenuity that stand in defiance of the impossible. Really I do. Consider the fact that the Wright Flyer I flew on December 17, 1903, an impressive feat. Less than forty four years later Chuck Yeager flew faster than the speed of sound. Pause for a moment, close your eyes, and think about that. Forty four years from sticks and cloth to the Bell X1.
It was, and still sometimes is, referred to as the sound BARRIER. People often forget that. Scientists and engineers at the time felt it was physically impossible to build a maneuverable machine that could effectively cut through supersonic airflow, hence the name. Pilots during WWII would sometimes hit this brick wall in nose dives, almost always resulting in catastrophe as their controls froze and they plunged to their deaths.
I can appreciate the apprehension given that it had only been a few decades since Orville and Wilbur rigged up some lumber, cloth and a very crude combustion engine to float along a few hundred feet. If they didn't have a 20+ mph headwind it may not have even happened. But the fact remains, they did it. We did it. Today, we have machines now that can fly twenty five times the speed of sound (ie., the Space Shuttle on reentry). The whole thing brings a tear to my eye when I really think about it.
A bit more personally (that's what blogs are about, right?) it has been a ridiculously hard summer for me on many levels. Actually, that's a complete understatement. Words simply fail. But ... I'm still here. As cliche as it may sound, what doesn't kill us (IF it doesn't kill us) really does make us stronger. The trick, as folks like Reiner Maria Rilke observe, is to allow the pain of the experience to enter us as something new ... that changes us. Ironically, that's exactly how alloys work and why they're stronger than pure metallic elements. So, self smithery has rapidly become a new hobby. I'll toss a bone here on that one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alloy
As an aside, I'd like to point out that those fancy, superfast flying machines we know and love also make extensive use of exotic metal alloys.
I have absolutely no recollection of how the following came into my world. I missed out on the whole Grunge music thing in the 1990's. But somehow, almost randomly, a couple of months back one of Pearl Jam's biggest hits came on my radar. Like I said, I don't recall precisely how, but this blog owes its namesake to the tune.
Here's a particularly interesting video of the song performed live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ByjoK3VVc
Dancing sign language FTW!
I don't ever recall a time when a single piece of art has so elegantly described personal and emotional events in my life. The effect, along with others, has been so profound that I simply cannot ignore it and have been both inspired to write this blog as well as kick start the process of learning how to fly. Time will tell I guess.
The band seem to have quite a few songs that hit eerily close to home for me. Ironic. I know, many of my musicologist friends will cringe at the thought of my referencing Pearl Jam for any kind of wisdom. We can duke it out over some drinks. But anyhow, there ya go.
Airplanes are glorious machines, arguably the most wonderful we as a species have ever conceived, let alone actually built. Flight enthralled the Italian futurists of the 1920s. F. T. Marinetti believed airplanes would reshape the future of humanity in a profoundly positive way. You can Google / Wikipedia all about it on your own. I humbly contend that the majority of their socially transformative power remains largely untapped.
I love examples of human ingenuity that stand in defiance of the impossible. Really I do. Consider the fact that the Wright Flyer I flew on December 17, 1903, an impressive feat. Less than forty four years later Chuck Yeager flew faster than the speed of sound. Pause for a moment, close your eyes, and think about that. Forty four years from sticks and cloth to the Bell X1.
It was, and still sometimes is, referred to as the sound BARRIER. People often forget that. Scientists and engineers at the time felt it was physically impossible to build a maneuverable machine that could effectively cut through supersonic airflow, hence the name. Pilots during WWII would sometimes hit this brick wall in nose dives, almost always resulting in catastrophe as their controls froze and they plunged to their deaths.
I can appreciate the apprehension given that it had only been a few decades since Orville and Wilbur rigged up some lumber, cloth and a very crude combustion engine to float along a few hundred feet. If they didn't have a 20+ mph headwind it may not have even happened. But the fact remains, they did it. We did it. Today, we have machines now that can fly twenty five times the speed of sound (ie., the Space Shuttle on reentry). The whole thing brings a tear to my eye when I really think about it.
A bit more personally (that's what blogs are about, right?) it has been a ridiculously hard summer for me on many levels. Actually, that's a complete understatement. Words simply fail. But ... I'm still here. As cliche as it may sound, what doesn't kill us (IF it doesn't kill us) really does make us stronger. The trick, as folks like Reiner Maria Rilke observe, is to allow the pain of the experience to enter us as something new ... that changes us. Ironically, that's exactly how alloys work and why they're stronger than pure metallic elements. So, self smithery has rapidly become a new hobby. I'll toss a bone here on that one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alloy
As an aside, I'd like to point out that those fancy, superfast flying machines we know and love also make extensive use of exotic metal alloys.
I have absolutely no recollection of how the following came into my world. I missed out on the whole Grunge music thing in the 1990's. But somehow, almost randomly, a couple of months back one of Pearl Jam's biggest hits came on my radar. Like I said, I don't recall precisely how, but this blog owes its namesake to the tune.
Here's a particularly interesting video of the song performed live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ByjoK3VVc
Dancing sign language FTW!
I don't ever recall a time when a single piece of art has so elegantly described personal and emotional events in my life. The effect, along with others, has been so profound that I simply cannot ignore it and have been both inspired to write this blog as well as kick start the process of learning how to fly. Time will tell I guess.
The band seem to have quite a few songs that hit eerily close to home for me. Ironic. I know, many of my musicologist friends will cringe at the thought of my referencing Pearl Jam for any kind of wisdom. We can duke it out over some drinks. But anyhow, there ya go.
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