According to renown historian Bilstein Roger, it is not clear when commercial air transport begun in the United States, but he traces it back to the era of hydrogen powered airplanes which operated between Oakland and Sanfransisco as early as 1913 (Freeman, n.d). In 1919, some milestones were made in the aviation industry when Lawson built the first ever multiengine airplane which was made specifically for passengers (Freeman, n.d). During this era of aviation, there was no any authority charged with the responsibility of overseeing and coordinating the aviation industry since it was not a popular means of transport. Most people by then relied on roads and railways as means of transport. The emergence of commercial aviation in the United States may be traced back to what many have described as “the airmail experiment”. The post office in the United States has been seen by many to have initiated true commercial aviation as early as 1925 when it started delivering letters through the air. By the year 1925, the US government had in place 7 airplanes which transported letters between cities and had the capacity of delivering over 14 million letters in a year (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2008). This airmail delivery service was controlled and managed by the government which employed the pilots and oversaw their continuous training as well as their regular medical checkups. The service was very reliable and touted as one of the safest means of transport due to the minimal incidents witnessed, which was put at one incident per over 700,000 miles flown by the planes. This made the airmail service very popular especially among business men and bankers, who preferred the method due to its efficiency and convenience (U.S. Departmen... ... middle of paper ... ...re by the US government to consolidate its resources and efforts in enhancing national security. The Department of Homeland Security currently oversees the control and regulation of all air flights in the United States with special focus on how to free the United States from terrorism which may result from poor management of the crucial aviation industry (Whitnah, 1998). Works Cited Freeman, R.(n.d). The Pioneering Years: Commercial Aviation 1920 – 1930. Retrieved on July 6th, 2011 from http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/1920s/Tran1.htm U.S. Department of Transportation. (July 2008).History of Aviation Safety Oversight in the United States. Retrieved on July 6th, 2011 from http://www.tc.faa.gov/its/worldpac/techrpt/ar0839.pdf Whitnah, D.R. (1998). US Department of Transportation. New York, NY: Greenwood Publishing Group. Print.
In October 1925, Lindbergh was hired by the Robertson Aircraft Corporation to lay out, and then serve as the chief pilot for a 278 mile air mail route to provide services between St...
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011 prompted the world to reevaluate and drastically modify airport and airline security. “Four targets had been chosen, all iconic American buildings that would send a clear message of the depth of their hatred for the United States. All four planes crashed, killing all on board—terrorists, crew members, and passengers, along with hundreds who were killed inside the structures, on the ground, and the men and women who ran into collapsing buildings in an effort to try and save others” (Smutz 1). As Jason Villemez said “the decade after the 9/11 attacks reshaped many facets of life in America” (Villemez 1). Before the attacks, people did not think that large scale hostility towards innocent people in our country was remotely possible. Ever since that fateful moment, citizens in America are on their toes every day worrying about another attack happening. United States citizens have had to adapt and change in response to this fear of further terrorist assault on our country. One of the ways they have adapted is by changing their means of security concerning airline travel.
On 9 February President Roosevelt ended all government air mail contracts with airlines and ordered the Army to fly the mails. Roosevelt took this measure to deprive commercial airlines of scandalously high financial arrangements, but his plans failed because of the Army Air Corps' inability to handle the job. After the ...
During the infancy of aviation no federal safety program existed. Some states passed legislation that required aircraft licensing and registration. Local governments passed ordinances that regulated flight operations and pilots. What this created was a patchwork of safety related requirements. In 1926 Congress passed the Air Commerce Act, which created the Department of Commerce. Historically the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dates from the Air Commerce Act of 1926. This was the first federal legislation of the government in aviation safety. The government finally realized that by regulating aviation a safer aviation industry could be attained. For example the Post Office suffered one fatality for 463,000 hours of flying versus non-regulated flying there was one fatality per 13,500 hours. As seen by regulating aviation safety is vastly increased.
McNeely, Gina. "Legacy of Flight." Aviation History. Mar. 1998: Academic Search Premier. 8 Nov. 2003.
After 9/11 there was a great increase in security nationwide. One major example of this is the number of agencies created as a result of 9/11. Among these agencies include the creation of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the DHS (The Department of Homeland Security), the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and lastly the massive advancement of the US Coast Guard. Every one of the budgets of these agencies has doubled since 9/11. The creation of the transportation and security administrations primary goal is to improve the safety of all American Citizens traveling by plane. The TSA started implementing, new policies and new technological advancements.
New technology in the 1920s attributed to the change. Inventions such as the radio helped improve communication. Court trials, conventions, and meetings were broadcasted. Electrical appliances improved homes. In 1922, Sinclair Lewis wrote, "These standard advertised wares- toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous hot-water heaters were his symbols and proofs of excellence, at first the signs, then the substitutes, for joy and passion and wisdom" (Document A.) The invention of the motion picture was also very significant. The invention of the airplane was influential as well. Charles Lindbergh's nonstop, 33-hour flight from New York to Paris helped increase interest in planes. Afterwards, Lindbergh became almost a world hero. Mary B. Mullett stated in The American Magazine, "When, because of what we believe him to be, we gave Lindbergh the greatest ovation in history, we convicted ourselves of having told a lie about ourselves. For we proved that the "things of good report" are the same today as they were nineteen hundred years ago . . . to have shown us this truth about ourselves is the biggest thing that Lindbergh has done" (Document F.) Within two years, William E. Boeing had created the first commercial airplane and was flying people from San Francisco to Chicago in it. The automobile was the biggest invention of its time. The automobile helped the tourist industry, and created some new businesses, such as gas...
The Airplane was first invented in 1903; it amazed everyone but never really took off because of how dangerous it still was. They used planes in WWI but they threw them aside. After WWI (around mid 1920’s) the Federal Government had the idea of airmail. This was readily accepted; instead of receiving mail in two weeks it would only take a couple of days. Soon after this, transporting people quickly caught on although only the upper-class people could afford it, it soon became accessible to almost everyone. (Inventions: Airplane)
The preflight arrangements for Charles A. Lindbergh’s flight began in early 1927. Charles A. Lindbergh presented his proposal to Knight, Bixby, and other St. Louis businesspersons whom were impressed with Lindbergh’s confidence and agreed to sponsor his flight. Lindbergh had setup a $15,000 budget and $2,000 of which was Lindberghs. A name, the Spirit of St. Louis, was established. Lindbergh was to choose the plane and decide on all other aspects of the proposed flight. According to Lindbergh, a single-engine plane, rather than a multiengine plane increased the chance of success. His theory was the less weight, the more fuel, the greater range. The experts would say that a solo flight across the Atlantic was simply suicide. The burden on the pilot was considered too great—he would have to stay awake for over thirty hours, enduring constant stresses. Immediately, Lindbergh began searching for the right plane at the right price. He contacted a number of aircraft companies. Some did not respond and some turned him down. Things were not looking good for Lindbergh. In early February 1927, the Ryan Airlines Corporation of San Diego, California, had responded within twenty-four hours of receiving Lindbergh’s telegram regarding a plane for his proposed transatlantic flight. Yes, they could produce a plane that could fly nonstop from New York to Paris. It would cost $6,000 not including the engine, and would take three months to build. The Ryan workers worked on the Spirit of St. Louis morning, noon, and night, seven days a week. Voluntary overtime became a normal operating procedure, and work on most other planes had nearly stopped. After meeting with the company’s president, they decided to modify an existing Ryan model by outfitting the plane with extra fuel tanks and increasing the wing area, thus would give the plane a maximum range of 4,000 miles, more than enough to reach Paris. In the picture to the right, it shows how the main fuel tank in the fro...
The aviation industry in the 1920s took flight because of men and women like Charles Lindbergh, William Boing, Betty Coleman, William J. Powell, Richard Evelyn Byrd, and Raymond Orteig. Their efforts and risks helped shape the industry as well as the Jazz Age. Both Lindbergh and Amundsen are both famous for their daring feats that helped push the limits of their planes at the time and brought attention to the new industry. Boing and Orteig are also both well recognized for investing in the industry so that it had monetary backup to make it profitable to continuously improve and advance new airplane designs.
After the fear of terrorism grew in the United States do to the Al Qaeda 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the US Government found a need for a centralized department that umbrellas all other agencies when it comes to homeland security. The U.S. Government found this umbrella agency with the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security formally came into being as a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department to further coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts. (Homeland Security) With the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the government had a pinpoint location for the collection and gathering of intelligence, control of policies that effect national security, and a no fail mission. The Department of Homeland Security started to engulf other agencies and created many more, a total of 22 agencies now fall under the DHS. The DHS is control of all areas that deal with national security which included but are not limited to coastal and boarder protection, domestic terrorism, international terrorism, protection of the American people, protection of key infrastructure, protection of key resources and respond to natural disasters.
Biles, C. W. (2013). The United States Federal Air Marshal Service: a historical perspective, 1962-2012 : "fifty years of service". New York: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
"Barnstormer" is one of the most illustrative words in the English language. It brings to mind images of brightly painted propeller planes, piloted by leather clad figures, breezing through clear blue skies over faded wooden buildings, thrilling crowds of onlookers with the dramatic performance of dangerous stunts. These images are so vivid that one can almost smell the scent of freshly cut hay floating on the light wind; almost hear the high pitched whine of the plane's propellers as they cut through the crisp spring air. Barnstormers were pioneers in the early years of aviation. Their daring, passion, creativity and competitive spirit contributed greatly to the advancement of flight. Without the substantial achievements of these brave men and women, aviation might not have progressed to the important industry and widespread mode of transportation that it is today.
By 1914 aviation technology was sophisticated enough to make airplanes valuable wartime tools. In 1918, the U.S. government found an important peacetime role for aviation: delivering mail. Entrepreneur Walter T. Varney launched his U.S. "air mail" operation April 6, 1926, marking the birth of commercial aviation in the United States. Because Varney was a predecessor of United, it also marked the birth of the airline.
While sitting in Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport, one cannot help but to notice and feel an overwhelming dominant presence of one particular airline. Delta as we know it today, traces its roots way back to 1924. Huff Daland Dusters was founded as the world’s first aerial crop dusting organization. In 1928 the company became Delta Air Service, and the following year Delta carried its first passengers over a route stretching from Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi with stops in Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana. In 1941, the company moved its headquarters from Monroe to Atlanta, Georgia.