We’ve Come A Long Way Since Orville & Wilbur

By Capt Ron • December 17th, 2009
First successful flight of the Wright Flyer, b...
Image via Wikipedia

December 17 is a historic day in aviation.

In 1903, 106 years ago, the Wright brothers made their first flight.

It was a monumental event then, but today their flight wouldn’t cover the distance from one wingtip on a Boeing 747 to the other.

Their feat was pretty amazing and we honor their achievement, but today’s modern airliners just aren’t Orville and Wilbur’s airplane anymore.

Modern commercial airplanes are technological miracles compared to the Wright Flyer. The most significant improvements that have made flying the safest way to travel on the planet have been made in engines, air traffic control, and the study of human factors–how to make aviation even safer by eliminating the human causes of accidents.

Speaking of safety and airplane crashes, did you know you have a better chance of being elected President of the United States than being killed in an airplane crash?  And to achieve that statistical crash, you would have to fly once a day every day for 63,000 years.

While it’s tempting to feel more “in control” when driving in a car, facts say it just isn’t so.

So today we remember the Wright brothers for getting us started on our way to the safest and fastest way to travel.

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Comments(2) Airplane Crashes, Aviation safety

Comments

By Erin on December 19th, 2009 at 7:27 pm

Thanks for this information. I always like reading your posts, Captain Ron. I tend to only get nervous right before a flight(1 week until the day of the flight) but I am usually OK once we have taken off. Your words of encouragement always get me through. I will be flying in about a week, and you better believe I will be on this site as much as possible between now and when we take off :) Thanks for all you do!!
Erin

By Marcia Silberman on December 19th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Thanks for the post. I keep needing to be reminded of all the good things you teach.
Hope you have a very good holiday.

Marcia and Al

 

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