Tim Brady's The American Aviation Experience: A History

At the start of the Great Depression, James “Jimmy” Doolittle was spending his time between working for the Shell Oil Company and as a reservist in the U.S Army. With Shell, he was spending his time as the manager of the Aviation Department. With the Army, he was testing aircraft and setting airplane speed records. Later into the era of depression, Doolittle would lead one of the most successful missions into Japan as a member of the Army Air Corps.

“Was the frivolity of the Jazz Age… masking the stock-market greed? Were the truly positive aspects of the economy… destined to be pushed into the background?” ("The 1920s: Business and the Economy: Overview." American Decades- STA database source) When people think of the 1920s, they often think of “flapper girls” and the famed Harlem neighborhood in New York City. However, this era was far more complicated than modern-day media and movies like to paint it as.

When Feng Ru started to build his first aircraft, it kept having problems which made him challenged himself when he flies on it, but he can still dream to be a famous aircraft builder. “The big bi-plane, with its four starting wheels tucked beneath it like the talons of a bird, sailed slowly in an elliptical course around the crest of the hill nearly back to the starting point, reported the Oakland Enquirer in its September 23 edition” (Maksel). This sentence shows what Feng is going to build for his famous aircraft. Feng really wants to build an airplane as to be responded as a famous aircraft maker in China, for people to travel around places without going on foot. Feng Ru taught himself how to make an airplane and using the parts he got from a builders store, he flew over 120 feet without crashing after he finished his aircraft.

During World War II, the United States Army Air Corps made many advancements making it possible to better protect the troops and bring them home. Not only were there many improvements in aircraft technology, but there also began to be changes in society’s views on African Americans in the military. The increase of aviation technology that developed during this World War was a defining characteristic of the outcome of the war. Each country fought for control of the air to gain the advantage over the opposing side. Aviation and improved aircraft were crucial to the strategies and developments that took place.

The hillside popped out of nowhere and there was no time to change their path. The tragic accident that happened killed lots of people. The whole football team died on the plane crash when they hit the hillside. Marshall University plane crash was a tragedy that changed the way the university recruited player. The whole town mourn their loss and worked together to move on.

Oakland, California. 1909. A plane piloted by self-taught engineer Feng Ru crashes into his shack, his workspace hidden deep within the forest, setting it ablaze, not an uncommon occurrence. Brooklyn, 1947. Jackie Robinson, renegade trailblazer who had breached the Major Leagues’ color barrier for the first time in history steps up to home plate.

The Airplane was gaining popularity sending mail from coast to coast. When Charles Lindbergh flew his airplane from continent to continent, the airplane was then

Although many of the first aircraft produced were not very safe, many significant improvements were made in the coming years reaffirming the belief in the effectiveness of the

The Wright Brothers were the perfect pair of entrepreneurs. They accomplished so much more than they would have than if they worked

As time passed after WWI, fewer people paid attention to airplanes. An example of this is how Eddie Ricken Backen was unable to get a job in aviation after being a WWI ace, he then ended up selling cars. This meant that there needed to be a change of opinion on flying. In order to change the people's mindsets Charles A. Lindbergh flew a plane for thirty-three hours and thirty minutes from New York to France. This was a major achievement and it led him to be known as a genuine hero (Minnesota Historical Society 1).

State-of-the-art vehicles and systems were being developed that could transport people and cargo in more efficient manners, and new manufacturing systems were able to create these vehicles at a much higher rate. One of these systems was the variable pitch propeller, invented by Wallace Turnbull in 1922. Unlike conventional fixed pitch propellers, this propeller utilized a motor to alter the pitch of the blade and cut through varying amounts of air. This helped the airplane obtain maximum power and thrust on takeoff, and then transition to an economical cruise setting, which, “…Made the air-transport industry possible” (Freeman-Shaw et al. 43). With this invention, aircraft were able to transport considerably greater volumes of people or cargo, which provided significant economic benefits.

Before Lindbergh's flight to France, people usually traveled by ship, car or train. But due to Lindbergh’s successful trip to France people's fear of traveling on a plane quickly disappeared. In 1929, more than 170,000 people wanted to travel by plane. Previous to Lindbergh's impact on civilians, about only 60,000 people wanted to take a trip by plane. Seeing that his flight had such a great significance to the people stocks in aviation grew as well (Bishop).

Slowly after the 1900’s different types of planes were being made and they had certain purposes. Big sturdy planes carried a lot of cargo, long thin planes carried passengers. Now almost everybody has rode a plane, it is really an amazing mode of transportation! The Wright Brothers changed the way aerodynamics works by, teaching thousands of pilots how to maneuver a plane.

Mankind has always had an obsession with flying. The Wright brothers made the first airplane that was able to fly and land on its own power, and after WWII mankind become obsessed with reaching the moon. In 1969 Neil Armstrong did just that. All of these works were made possible by the

Aircraft accidents Aircraft accidents are the nightmares for both every pilot and aircraft passengers. Accidents can happen even when you least expect it which makes them even mere frightening. The reasons behind an aircraft accident can vary from situation to another but the main reasons are human error or most of the time it is caused by technical issues. In this essay I will address how accidents can happen which means I will in detail examine how accidents can happen which related to human error, technical issues or even accidents are caused by supernatural phenomena. First of all in my essay I will talk about human errors.