If Man were Meant to Fly

The historic evolvement of flight from Icarus of Greek mythology to modern flight is delineated. Basic flight principles are defined with the interrelation of power plants, aerodynamics, and structural materials.

The development of fighters, bombers, commercial transports, cargo airplanes, anti-submarine airplanes, flying boats, balloons, dirigibles, and helicopters are described. The FAA rules and regulations on passenger aircraft performance are examined and critiqued. Antidotes of people involved with this evolution are presented relating to the specific subjects. Lessons learned and speculation on Aviation's future is presented. Reasons for cost escalation are investigated with the conclusion that some are necessary but other are not owing to wish list items which do not contribute to the overall objective. Space is looked at as a very expensive venture with pay-off, at present, in the communication arena. Launching costs requires major reduction to provide more meaningful results compared to the present almost entertainment value of space travel.