December 17, 2003
Flight: The Next 100 Years
The last 100 years of flight, ushered in by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903, saw man break the sound barrier, visit the moon, and even leave the solar system.
The next 100 years of flight, as envisaged by an article in the Economist, promise to be just as astounding.
If things come to pass as the reviewer expects, the skies of the future will be teeming with unmanned aerial verhicles, planes that morph into optimal flight shapes using memory materials, economically viable supersonic transport, planes powered by new sources of power, and - yes, people have been predicting this since forever - the personal air car.
Seems optimistic. Consider the retirement of our only supersonic passenger jet, the space shuttle falling from the sky, small plane manufacturers getting out of the business due to insurance costs, how big of a PITA commercial air travel has become, the ineptitude of your average car driver (Air car? yeah...I'd never go outside again.) I say bring on the TGV!
Posted by Mitch at December 17, 2003 04:03 PMTo leave a comment or read updated entries, please visit GearBits' current site. Thanks.