People have been trying to fly for centuries. Early crafts tried to imitate the flapping wings of birds. They were called ornithopters. In 1903, the Wright Brothers succeeded in the first sustained, controlled, powered flight, and just a little over a decade later during WWI, the airplane was a deciding force in battle. Rapid strides had been made in a relatively short period.
Browsing a new sight for genealogical information, I was surprised by the notice from
"The Dillon Herald," in South Carolina on September 7, 1916
An Aeroplane Sighted!
Aircraft seen Passing Southward over Cumberland County
Fayetteville, NC Sept 2
An aeroplane passed over the plantation of J H McIlwinnen in Seventy-First township yesterday afternoon about 5 o’clock, says "The Observer" today. Mr McIlwinnen’s family saw it and report that there was one person in it. It was going south.
What a surprise for that family. Chances are, not one of them ever flew on a commercial flight. I wonder if they ever even thought flight would be possible for the average citizen.
Several years ago I watched in awe as the shuttle returned from space, flying right over my house. It was not some bright star-like apparition in the sky. I could see the shuttle. I could hear the noise it made as it swooshed by. As soon as it was out of sight, I ran in to listen to the news report. Five minutes after it flew over my house in Texas, it landed in Florida!
I wonder which is the greater surprise - putting a metal machine in the air for sustained flight for the first time or sending it into space then landing it on earth safe and sound. I doubt that I, nor my children, will ever take a commercial flight into space, but I will treasure the memory of seeing the shuttle in flight.
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