Essay Sample on Fixed-Wing Aircraft: Changing Lives & Transforming the World

Introduction

Throughout history, human beings have been establishing many kinds of machines to change their way of life and make it easier to live. The primary invention is in the area of aviation, where the notable invention is fixed-wing aircraft, which considerably changed lives in communication and war (Meyer, 2013). Daily, thousands of fixed-wing aircraft crisscross around the world, transporting travelers to various destinations. The airplanes fly without a thought of how essential the ability to fly to the skies is. Just imagine the idea of going to another continent 120 years ago; it would be possible through the tedious and ship journeys (Meyer, 2013). Most individuals today take air travel for granted. But aircraft have changed the world culture significantly.

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The fixed-wing aircraft invention is one of the most incredible inventions that humankind has ever made, and it has a significant impact on people's lives socially, politically, and economically. It has played a substantial role in the social life of individuals as people became more socially interactive and explored the world through traveling to many places on several continents (Jakab, 2014). It has allowed the growth of international trade and provides individuals with an opportunity to learn and meet people from different countries while on pleasure or business trips.

The decade that followed after the Wright brothers flew their first plane witnessed a wide range of reactions from different people to the new technology. Human flight was so revolutionary and significantly a breakthrough that its overall influence went beyond the aeronautical community (Murphie & Potts, 2017). The invention had meaning for every individual in the world, from the broad cultural implications of the flight to the military and commercial potential of aviation. The Wright brothers did not only influence the world culture, but it offered a solution to the long-studied problem of technology. They assisted in creating an entirely new world; speculation on how the world looks like began with the first tentative leaps by the planes into the air.

A fixed-wing aircraft is a machine that flies, such as an airplane that can fly using wings that are fixed on its body that can generate lift, which is caused by the shape of the wings and the forward airspeed of the aircraft. A fixed-wing plane differs from rotary-wing aircraft in which its wings are mounted on a spinning shaft to form a rotor. They include variable-sweep wing aircraft, hand gliders, and airplanes which utilize wing morphing. An example of a fixed-wing aircraft is the Boeing 737 airliner.

The paper examines the impact of fixed-wing aircraft invention on world culture. The paper explores the history of the airplane and life before the invention. Then its impact is assessed with more emphasis being on the wartimes, impact on international business, impact on space travel, and impact on aerial photographs and movies. Also, the paper addresses the importance brought by airplane invention and the problems it solved.

History of Airplane Invention and Life before the Invention

The history of the invention of a fixed-wing aircraft did not begin with the Wright brothers. It is traced back to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries were some individuals like Galileo Galilei and Leonardo da Vinci in Italy studied the forces operating on a robust body (Murphie & Potts, 2017). Then studies on resistance and forces on the surface of an object were done by Christian Huygens in the Netherlands. Other researchers like Leonhard Euler and John Smeaton and Daniel Bernoulli all explained the relationship between velocity and pressure. The information was later used by engineers to calculate aerodynamic forces. George Cayley then gathered valuable data on aerodynamics, which bridged the gap between the engineering research, the age-old dream of flight, and the physical theory. The data was useful for designing a winged aircraft. Cayley was the first to experiment with fixed-wing aircraft. In 1866, the first meeting of Aeronautical Society of Great Britain was done, and, on that meeting, Francis H. Wenham restated ideas of Cayley concerning wings, and five years later, Wenham and John Browning developed the first wind tunnel which had a significant effect on the development of airplane wings (Weisshaar, 2013). After all those experiments, the Wright brothers came in after studying the work of their predecessors carefully, and they focused on wing design. At around 1901, they experimented with gliders until 1903 when they finished the final step in their invention of a fixed-wing aircraft (Jakab, 2014). The success of the invention was propelled by the culture of curiosity and open literature as the experimenters were able to extend their work from previous experiments.

A long time before Orville and Wilbur Wright began the invention of airplanes, people daily could only travel by buggy and horse, foot, and ship or train. Both people and mail delivery across countries took weeks or months. Orville and Wilbur Wright invented the first airplane in 1903, which they tested in North Carolina. The plane was a wood-metal and a muslin flyer, and it resembled a box kite with propellers. The brothers made a four-cylinder gasoline engine, which in the same year, 1903, enabled their invention to the flyer (Jakab, 2014). After that day, long trips across the United States commenced, and people started crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Ahead of it laid trips across continents that happened within hours, and then later about 66 years after the invention, a fly to the moon became possible with aircraft being used.

Impact of Fixed-Wing Aircraft on World Culture

The invention of a fixed-wing aircraft has had a significant impact on world culture, primarily through air travel and aviation. It has impacted the way people in the world live and the way they view the world around and how individuals view themselves. The initial culture of doing business was also affected as aircraft resulted in globalization that was limited before its invention. Although the impact is difficult to measure, the invention has contributed to widespread individuals and connect with others all over the world and to places that are different from one's own home. Airplanes made it possible for people around the globe to connect with others outside their communities by enabling them to gain greater control over their destinies' use of internet services, which utilizes satellites placed in space by use of aircraft.

It is a common phenomenon today that many people have traveled to various countries on their continents and other continents for businesses, schools, or tourism through the use of airplanes. The movement today could not be possible without planes. Hence, the world today consists of individuals that have different cultural backgrounds; most of them do not share the same nationality. In the interaction between such individuals, a situation where cultural issues add to the complexities of their interaction arises (Meyer, 2013). A dynamic peculiar to the increased globalization is the fact that people of different cultures fly daily to various places where they get new cultures. In foreign countries, the commencement of every task forces the foreigners to socialize while working or touring; the interaction is with strangers.

The cultural shift caused by the invention of a fixed-wing aircraft is spread to several areas, and it has changed the way some things were done before. To start, it changed the mode of transportation and the number of people who move from different countries to another increased, leading to the interaction of people with different cultures.

In the past, the global cultures were very rare to cross paths as it was only adventurers or explorers who were able to mingle and meet with communities that are isolated across continents. Shipping was used to transport people and goods around the globe, and individuals were busy trying and working to survive as they could rarely take advantage of the ship (Weisshaar, 2013). The invention of fixed aircraft wing changed all that as today people can mingle with various cultures, and other people's cultures have been introduced to different communities. People can now sample tantalizing delicacies from various places in the world as well as add themselves to individuals in remote locations anywhere in landing strips.

Aircraft's invention changed how war took place during wartimes. Airplanes played a considerable role in determining the victories of the known two world wars. The countries that had newer technology like aircraft were inevitably successful at shooting, scouting, and delivering payloads and paratroopers. The advances in aerodynamics, together with precise aiming, were the primary instruments for success in battle. Airplanes were used as weapons, which were not available before its invention in around 1903 by Wright brothers (Jakab, 2014). The first use of aircraft in war is during World War 1, and its use as a weapon has progressed until today, as many countries utilize to attack enemies.

The invention has changed how war is conducted across the world, turning it from the initial ground war to a total air war. Many countries today possess a lot of airplanes, and they are the leading forces in defending and as observation tools. Airplanes were utilized to restock military operations during battles (Morshed, 2002). Aircraft eased war, and it led to the development of horrific weapons based on advancements from the emergence of airplane warfare. It made it possible to take a picture of troop movement, which allowed commanders of battlefields to be more educated concerning the actions of the enemy and help save more lives from an enemy ambush.

As a result of airplane invention, technology advancement happened as more advanced software, and computers were introduced to assist the planes fly higher, more efficiently, more robust, farther, longer, and more accurately.

More so, the invention of aircraft changed consumption. The types of goods consumed by individuals all over the world changed with changes in consumer patterns. The plane was used to transport various commodities from one country to another, where the product is not available within a short period (Szuladzinski, 2014). It has enhanced the quality of life to a large extent through the broadening of cultural experiences and individual's leisure as it has provided a range of choices of holiday destinations all over the world, and it gives affordable means to visit distant relatives and friends. It has resulted in social inclusion through various tourists going to remote areas of other countries. Also, aircraft invention impacted the costs that individuals are willing to pay for long-distance transportation, and it changed the overall traveling experiences by providing luxuries that were not available in the first modes of transportation such as trains and vehicles.

Importance of Fixed-Wing Aircraft Invention

For many individuals in the world, it is so hard to think about the world today without fixed-wing aircraft. It is a simple fact that makes aircrafts invention more critical in influencing the world culture and society at large. The importance might be overlooked sometimes, but they have contributed a lot to the world and the history of invention. It should not be taken for granted what airplanes have provided today through what human beings can now achieve.

The fixed-wing aircraft became a stepping stone to space travel. The invention of the airplane fanned the flames of various scientists who wanted to achieve space travel. One such scientist is Wernher Von Braun, the mastermind behind the...