Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The First Flight
Today's topic wasn't going to be my first choice, but when I came across a very old airplane toy, that was the topic I decided upon. Probably one of the most recognized photos is the one below that I used from Wikepedia. That's the first motorized flight by the Wright brothers.
That first flight took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (USA) on December 17, 1903. When you think of that time, you'd have to realize that it probably took at least 1-7 days for the whole world to hear the news. Marconi had transmitted the first wireless message across the Atlantic Ocean on December 12, 1901. Newspapers took a long time to be distributed across countries, and as such days would pass before people in the centres of their countries would read the news.
I can't even imagine the exuberance and fascination when this first flight occurred. I remember when we moved in 1963 from an older part of town. The airplane pathway landings p[assed over our houses, and there were still large-sized propeller airplanes flying. Flash-forward, years, later when I first saw the first Boing 747 passing by. It wan huge, and was flying what seemed to be so slowly, I thought it would drop out of the sky!
Terminology
Biplane: A twin wing airplane. The early airplanes had 1 wing atop the other
Pusher: A type of airplane engine where the engine is in front and the propeller is in back.
Normal propeller-type airplanes have the propeller in front, and the engine in the back.
If you're wondering about the focus of some of the images, don't worry. I was removing the backgrounds from the images, when I decided to use Photoshop (Layer >>Layer Style >>Inner Glow). I liked the effect for the airplanes, and decided to present them to you that way.
Most of the toys do not have identifying dates for them, but I have a feeling that many of the toys were in fact made in the early 1910's, thus making them "true antiques" - being that is, at least 100 years old.
Thanks for dropping by,
and as always, have a great part of the day
wherever you may be.
Stacey
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