I Believe We Can Fly
Human capabilities are very much limited. However, we never stopped dreaming about making the impossible possible. On one hand, fiction writers are always dreaming about the super heroe who possess many abilities that we ─mere mortals─ lack. Also, scientists dreamt in their own way and made some of these dreams come true. So, now we can dive in the sea either in a submarine or without. However, we can fly only in planes, shuttles or rockets, but we can't fly on our own.
The term "Aviation" and/or "Aeronautics" are concerned with the studies, design and manufacture of flight- capable machines. Ancient people started to notice and document how birds flew, the ancient Egyptians documented in writings the mechanisms of flight of birds. Centuries later, the first courageous man to try and fly like these birds was "Abbas Ibn Firnas" of Cordoba, who wore birds' feathers and flew for some distance and ...you can imagine what happened to him !!!
Since Ibn Firnas put on wings and tried to fly, flying became one of man's greatest hopes. A lot of inventions have been made in this concern, and that provided us with the fastest means of transportation. Now, I can be anywhere in the world in no time. I can talk to you today from one continent and tomorrow morning from another. Also, I can apply to space agencies and text you from Mars... Amazing, I guess if Ibn Firnas can see us now...he will be very jealous.
Despite all that, I still want to fly on my own. I usually get this feeling when I am driving in heavy traffic. At these moments, I really wish I could somehow deflate my car and just fly away. I believe that this is your dream as well. I think it will be great to be able to fly. However, when I start thinking of people flying everywhere ...I guess the traffic up there will be so jammed as well. And one can see no clear skies as people will be everywhere on the ground and in the sky too.....annoying....And even if your apartment is on the 300th floor, you still will get your guests from the window...:))
I don't know....annoying or not....I guess we will see in the next couple of years what will happen !!!
I will fly away now...but you can continue this discussion with professionals in Aviation if you can attend one of the following conferences that will be held in Africa....now I put on my wings.....talk to you soon....:))
Aviation Outlook Africa 2011; Johannesburg, South Africa from 11-13 July 2011
(http://www.terrapinn.com/2011/aviationza/)
17th Aviation & Allied Business Leadership Conference, Dar El Salaam, Tanzania from 28-30 August
(http://www.aviationbusinessjournal.aero/conference-2011.aspx)
Also you can read all about aviation in the Nigerian Journal "Aviation and Allied Business"
(http://www.aviationbusinessjournal.aero/journal.aspx)
Image Credit by Artist: Viktor Vasnetsov. ''The Flying Carpet'' (1880) User Ghirlandajo Via Wikimedia Commons
