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Challenge, The

Flight Journal, Aug 2005 by Davisson, Budd

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PHOTOS IN WALTER Boyne's article, "Dornier Do X," it's impossible to escape the "What could they possibly have been thinking?" thought pattern. All those engines, wires and struts, a flying boat-surely they could see that it wouldn't work for a myriad of obvious reasons. That way of thinking, however, is borne of the arrogance of historical perspective.

More Articles of Interest: What might have been: the Do Xtra; Shooting stars; SNAKE CHARMER; S.C.S. Dangerous Waters; VFA-195 DAMBUSTERS

It's a near certainty that each generation, all the way back to the caveman, looked back at those who had come before and shook their heads at the actions of their predecessors. How could they think that the world was flat? How inefficient to hunt with bow and arrows. How quaint to wage war with muzzle-loading weapons. How could Dernier think it could breed an industry that would span the globe with such a hugely complex and, by our standards, crude machine? Of course, that's exactly how a generation or two down the road will look at Steve Fossett's record-setting solo flight around the world ("67 Hours of Calculations and Skill"). They'll say, "What was he thinking? A global circumnavigation without a Class V Aerial Hyper Widget?"

The arrogance of historical perspective is based on our almost universal failure to put historical events into context. We usually neglect to consider the technology, the politics and the general tone of the times in which an event transpired. For instance, we often don't consider the enormous amount of brass it took for Columbus (and those unrecorded explorers before him) to head off across the seasnot having the foggiest idea of whether they would actually fall off the edge of the world or not. They didn't know what was out there; in fact, all of the legends passed down from Vikings, Spaniards and others, led them to expect nothing but bad things out "there." But they did know one thing for certain: they wouldn't get answers without dipping their toes into the water and heading for far horizons. All of their voyages were challenges fraught with unimaginable unknowns. The Dornier and Fossett teams faced their own unknowns and their own challenges. But, then, isn't that what aviation has always been about?

The very concept of flight began as a challenge, and many men burned their souls to ashes by flinging themselves against that challenge. When the Wright boys breached the barrier, thousands of intrepid aerial explorers burst through the opening to seek their own challenges. First, it was how far and how fast; how high and how long. And somewhere along the line, aviation came of age. The industry, which Dornier thought the Do X could help create, became a reality, and aviation became part of everyday life. The challenges became harder to find and were often more personal.

Steve Fossett's round-the-world-solo challenge was largely personal. He certainly didn't need the financial rewards. Somehow, it's hard to see him doing commercial endorsements. Scene: Fossett, leaning against his GlobalFlyer, "I never leave home without it." He had set his goal, and he achieved it! But there's a little backstory to this that many news stations missed-the Rutan connection.

During the past year, the concept of new challenges seemed to be a Burt Rutan trademark: the first civilian into space and the first man flying solo around the world-both riding a Rutan-designed and Scaled Composites-fabricated broomstick. The Scaled team thrives on challenge, although theirs seems to be more of the "Go where only a few men have gone before, but do it cheaper and alone" variety.

It's interesting to note that every time aviation and its space-travel offshoot reach the business-as-usual, ho-hum stage, someone looks around, and, not seeing a record to be broken, seeks a way to simplify something that is complicated, to reduce the cost of something that's too expensive, or to convert something that's dangerous into child's play. The challenges, it would seem, often have nothing to do with breaking records but have everything to do with the pure joy of accomplishing something that has been deemed impossible.

Looking back in history, it becomes clear that "impossible" is really nothing more than something that hasn't yet been done. And once we've accomplished the impossible, future generations will undoubtedly wonder, "What took them so long?" Such arrogance!

Budd Davisson, Editor-in-Chief

Challenge, The

Flight Journal, Aug 2005 by Davisson, Budd

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