Public Reaction to Airplane Invention
Paul Norris
Professor Nitecki
Expository Writing 101-007
16 April 2013
The Airplane: Public Reaction Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the world’s first airplane at the turn of the twentieth century. Mary Bellis described the years following the brothers’ discovery, during which various engineers furthered their invention to where it stands today, capable of intercontinental travel for commercial, transportation and militaristic use. The airplane’s introduction and advancement was first met with apathy, then with both praise and criticism from people of varying social classes ranging from the struggling immigrant to national leaders. Never before had man been able to fly, and the sheer thought of such an idea fascinated and frightened the public. People delighted in the thought of travelling across the country in never-before-seen timely fashion to experience people and cultures that were once thought unreachable. However, others cringed at the potential damage that air travel could create if the utmost care were not taken. Elements of disbelief, fascination and fear make the reaction to the airplane a tale of multiple perspectives. Initially, the airplane’s invention did not incite the level of jubilation that the Wright brothers had anticipated. The U.S. military was the first body of power to really put air travel into use, but even they did not take the invention seriously until later on. Gerhard Falk, author of the novel Twelve Inventions Which Changed America, spoke of the airplane as the military’s “new aerial weapon” that was “terribly primitive” and did not show much promise based on its ineffectiveness in the First World War. Other authors shared Falk’s view; three PSCST-sponsored writers (Punjab State Council for Science & Technology) attributed the airplane being thrown aside as an impractical invention to “its high instability and poor control [which] made it less glamorous than other weapons of WWI” . Following the military was the Air
Professor Nitecki
Expository Writing 101-007
16 April 2013
The Airplane: Public Reaction Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the world’s first airplane at the turn of the twentieth century. Mary Bellis described the years following the brothers’ discovery, during which various engineers furthered their invention to where it stands today, capable of intercontinental travel for commercial, transportation and militaristic use. The airplane’s introduction and advancement was first met with apathy, then with both praise and criticism from people of varying social classes ranging from the struggling immigrant to national leaders. Never before had man been able to fly, and the sheer thought of such an idea fascinated and frightened the public. People delighted in the thought of travelling across the country in never-before-seen timely fashion to experience people and cultures that were once thought unreachable. However, others cringed at the potential damage that air travel could create if the utmost care were not taken. Elements of disbelief, fascination and fear make the reaction to the airplane a tale of multiple perspectives. Initially, the airplane’s invention did not incite the level of jubilation that the Wright brothers had anticipated. The U.S. military was the first body of power to really put air travel into use, but even they did not take the invention seriously until later on. Gerhard Falk, author of the novel Twelve Inventions Which Changed America, spoke of the airplane as the military’s “new aerial weapon” that was “terribly primitive” and did not show much promise based on its ineffectiveness in the First World War. Other authors shared Falk’s view; three PSCST-sponsored writers (Punjab State Council for Science & Technology) attributed the airplane being thrown aside as an impractical invention to “its high instability and poor control [which] made it less glamorous than other weapons of WWI” . Following the military was the Air
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