| Ever since the Wright Brothers managed to get their Wright flyer airborne in 1903, the history of aviation has been dotted with a number of fascinating, landmark moments. This list will run through 14 of the most innovative, important and incredible airplanes ever to grace the skies, and tell the remarkable stories that made them such trailblazing ground breakers. |
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| The Wright Flyer is famous for being the first airplane to successfully take flight. Designed and built by pioneering inventors and entrepreneurs Orville and Wilbur Wright, it achieved its feat on the beaches of Kitty Hawk, when Orville Wright piloted the airborne plane for 12 short seconds, covering 120 feet. The flight may have been short, but it was to prove one of the moments of the century, and the brothers toured with their plane to show off their achievements to skeptical audiences throughout the world. It was during this tour that they flew about Le Mans in France and kick-started an aviation revolution across Europe that was to change the world. |
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The Supermarine Spitfire was used extensively by the British Royal Air Force and other Allied countries during and beyond World War II. It has achieved iconic status for its role during the Battle of Britain when used by heavily outnumbered allied pilots to repel invaders from the German Luftwaffe. It was also produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft, and was the only plane to be continuously manufactured throughout the war. It remained in production until 1954.
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The Wright Brothers had proved that man's dream of flying could become reality, but it was left to a tiny plane called the Benoist XIV to bring that dream to the paying market. The small plane was specifically designed in the hope of carrying passengers, but suffered problems in its early days. The summer of 1913 saw its first attempts to establish itself as a passenger plane, but the plan failed and the aircraft was a wrecked.
It wasn't until the winter of 1914 that the designer Thomas Benoist partnered with businessman Percival Fansler to offer commercial flights between the Florida cities of St Petersburg and Tampa. Finally, on January 10th 1914 pilot Tony Jannus flew former St Petersburg mayor Abram C. Pheil across the route for the princely sum of $400.00. Although regular flights were priced at $5.00, Pheil had paid more at auction for the honor of being the very first passenger. |
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The de Havilland Comet is regarded as both a trailblazer and a tragedy by aviation historians. It was the first jet-powered passenger plane, capable of cruising at high altitudes - and brought with it new levels of comfort and fresh possibilities for passenger flights. However, the Comet was beset by design faults leading to a number of awful accidents, including three incidents in 1954 where planes broke up in mid-air. The tragedies ushered in a new era of extensive accident investigation and informed future aircraft design testing as engineers learned from the mistakes made by the Comet's designers, including the use of catastrophically inadequate airframes.
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The German built Messerschmitt Me 262 become the first jet-powered fighter aircraft when it was first commissioned in 1942, bolstering the Luftwaffe fleet in the middle of World War II. Allied attacks on fuel supplies and problems with the reliability of the engines meant that its impact on the direction of the War was not as great as the German military hoped, and it was not in production for very long. However, its jet engines offered a degree of maneuverability and speed that was not replicated elsewhere at the time, and its design would inspire future military aircraft into the jet-powered age.
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At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Gossamer Albatross was the product of aviation experimentation in the early 20th century. However, it was actually designed and built in the late 1970s. Paul B. McGready was the man behind the concept, and the Albatross was intended as a man-powered craft capable of long distance travel. On June 12th 1979, it achieved its ultimate goal when amateur cyclist and keen pilot Bryan Allen successfully flew it from England to France in 2 hours 49 minutes, reaching a top speed of 18mph. The super-lightweight composition of the Albatross has gone on to inspire the design of solar powered electric aircraft seen today.
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The Cirrus SR22 has been the best selling single-engine, four-seater aircraft since it was introduced in 2001 - and for good reason. It features a composite construction fitted with a parachute that works on the entire plane. The parachute system has saved well over 100 lives over the course of the Cirrus's production run, and has given confidence to budding pilots who can take the controls without the same levels of danger associated with other light aircraft. 19 year old Ryan Campbell flew in a Cirrus when he became the youngest pilot to fly around the world in 2014.
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Concorde is one of only two supersonic jets to ever carry commercial passengers and became synonymous with luxury travel and wealth. It first flew in 1969, but was not actually the first of its type - the Soviet built Tupolev Tu-144 beat it into flight by two months and the two types of plane were to be pitted in a commercial battle for years to follow. However, it was Concorde's distinctive design that became best known throughout most of the world, and it remains an iconic symbol of aviation history today, even though it took its last flight (in a blaze of publicity) in 2003.
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The MQ-1 Predator was the first 'unmanned aerial vehicle' (more commonly known as 'drone') to be used in conflict. It is capable of being piloted remotely for up to 21 hours, monitoring its target and completing missions before returning to base. The plane has been used on reconnaissance missions primarily but is also capable of firing missiles, making it a trailblazer for a new era of drone warfare that is changing the face of military conflict.
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12. Boeing 747 -The original high passenger capacity 'Jumbo Jet'
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The Boeing 747 was the original 'jumbo jet' built to transport more passengers than ever to faraway vacations. Much of the increase was provided by the 'upper deck', typically reserved for first class passengers. For 37 years it held the record for passenger capacity, after being originally introduced in 1970, and its design was even more impressive considering engineers had to hand-draw 75,000 technical sketches in the days before computers could do the job for them. The design was so good, in fact, that further advancements stalled and commercial passenger aviation remained unchanged for a number of years.
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Designed in 1944 and built in 1945, the Bell X-1 was the product of a research experiment by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the US Air Force. It was intended to break the sound barrier, and it did, achieving the first Mach 1 flight ever on October 14th 1947, in a plane pilot Chuck Yeager namedGlamorous Glennis after his wife. The legacy of the Bell X-1 was vast as the research techniques informed future designs of supersonic aircraft and the flight data was crucial to American military design in the latter half of the 20th century.
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Solar Impulse represents the fruits of a Swiss led project to build a solar powered aircraft capable of flying long distances. The project has been in development since 2003 and has achieved a number of successes, included manned test flights, a continental flight across the USA and a re-design that saw the development of Solar Impulse 2, a second model that is currently on a round-the-world trip conducted in 13 stages over two years.
As of the 23rd of October 2015, Solar Impulse 2 has completed 8 of those stages and sits in Hawaii ready to complete the final 5 stages of its journey back to Abu Dhabi, from where its journey began in March 2015. |
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Most Important Airplanes of All Time
Monday, February 15, 2016
Tips to Boost Your Self Confidence
Self confidence can get you far in this world. Employers, potential partners and friends all appreciate strong, self confident people. It's an admired trait. But even if you don't FEEL confident, there are ways to APPEAR confident, and when you succeed in doing that, you'll find that, very quickly, you actually feel as confident as you seem to be!
1: Practice exhibiting confidence through your body language
There is much evidence pointing to body language as a path to developing real self confidence. A 'fake it till you make it' approach can actually generate real confidence. So stand up straight, don't slouch, don't look at the floor. Pull your shoulders back, push out your chest a bit and have some space between your feet when you stand.
Also, don't touch your face when talking to others, this is a clear sign of a lack of confidence, don't play with your hair or look anywhere but the person you are talking to. .
2: Smile
Smile and let it show in your eyes. You'll see it not only makes a big difference in how people relate to you, but it also, eventually, makes you feel that much better.
3: Make eye contact and keep it
Don't be the first to look away. When your eyes meet another, hold the gaze, especially if you or they are talking. Don't stare, just move your eyes to theirs and hold, let them drop to the face and then back up. Don't break eye contact quickly, people who will immediately break eye contact give the impression that they either feel guilty for something, don't trust the person or are bored.
You can practice this with random people, and you may be surprised at their reaction when you get the nerve just to look them in the eyes. It will transmit confidence and interest.
4: Don't fidget
Compulsively moving your foot or nodding as someone else is talking transmits a lack of calm. To develop your self confidence, you'll need to be aware of your body and keep calm. If you feel yourself start to fidget, take a deep breath, disconnect for a moment and count to 3. Then release your breath and return to reality in control of your body.
5: Halt before you talk
When you are talking to another person, listen to them intently, don't cut them off and don't start talking immediately after they are done. Take 3 seconds to process the information, and then formulate a response that is quiet and shows that you really listened. Use specific details if possible. The time you take to think and process what the other person said would make you look more confident, wiser and kinder.
6: Let others speak
Continuing from our last point, try to get people to talk. Find out what questions they like being asked and encourage them to answer. People love being listened to, and once you do you'll discover there is always an advantage to knowing more about the person than they know about you. Also, the more open and direct you are in your questions, the more confident you'll seem. Just one word of advice: There is a thin line between being direct and being rude, find it and tread it carefully, you want to ask good questions but do it in a kind and offhand manner that'll put others at ease.
7: Don't cut people off
We return to this point because it is so common. Many of us just listen to the gist of what people are saying while waiting to give our own input. But being cut off is annoying, insulting and sometimes hurtful. Besides, you may miss out on important information. This takes a lot of patience, especially when people will just talk your ear off. But once you gain control of this need to give your own input right away, you'll discover it has powerful advantages. A man in control is a confident man, one who can listen to others' mistakes without having to correct them immediately.
On the other hand, if someone cuts you off, be assertive but calm, and ask politely that you be given the opportunity to finish. Don't look grouchy, they probably didn't mean to do it, just smile and be kind about it.
8: Dress well
It's amazing how much we get judged on visuals alone. You can take great advantage of that fact by being always well dressed.
Get an honest friend to tell you what looks good on you and what does not. Find a balance between comfort and a great look.
9: Exercise
Yes, even in an article about self confidence you won't escape this essential advice. Physical activity is a huge source of self confidence. Research has demonstrated that there is a direct link between sports and chemicals being released in the brain to cause euphoria.
Physical activity will also improve your looks, which will also add to your self confidence. And don't forget, just proving to ourselves what our bodies can do is a great boost to our confidence. Do any kind of physical activity for a better overall feeling and a great boost in self pride and respect.
10: Remember the good times
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Golden Rules of Goal Setting
If we want to succeed in any activity undertaken by us, we need to set goals. Without goals we lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows us to take control of our life’s direction; it also provides us a benchmark for determining whether we are actually succeeding.
To accomplish our goals, we need to know how to set them. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it. In between there are some very well defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow us to formulate goals that we can accomplish.The human brain is set up to help you achieve goals that you sincerely believe are achievable.
Here are our five golden rules of goal setting:
1. Set Specific and Clearly Define Goals
Make sure your goals are concrete, concise and attainable.You should clearly define your business goals from the very start, which should be specific and well defined. The point is for you to articulate exactly what you want to achieve.
2. Set SMART Goals
We have heard of setting “SMART goals” already. But do we always apply the rule? Simple fact is that for goals to be powerful, they should be designed to be SMART. There are many variations of what SMART stands for, but the essence is this – goals should be:
- Specific.
- Measurable.
- Attainable.
- Relevant.
- Time Bound.
Your goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the way. Make it as easy as you can to get where you want to go by defining precisely where you want to end up.
Set Measurable Goals
Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce expenses" how will you know when you have been successful? In one month's time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years' time when you have a 10 percent reduction? Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that comes with knowing you have actually achieved something.
Set Attainable Goals
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.
However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy. Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work hard for can be anticlimactic at best,and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of
non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they bring the greatest personal satisfaction.
Set Relevant Goals
Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you'll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.
Set Time-Bound Goals
You goals must have a deadline. Again, this means that you know when you can celebrate success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.
3. Set Goals In Writing
By clearly defining your idea, your imagination, heart and intellect can begin to work together to make it a reality.The physical act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible. So, we should write our goals down.The act of writing our ideas down, or say, keying them into our laptop, will force us to think in concrete terms. It will also spark additional ideas. This is the birth of our action plan. And, goals are nothing more than what you “plan” to accomplish.
4. Make An Action Plan
The best, perhaps the only, way to turn an abstract goal into an attainable reality is to create an action plan. By writing out the individual steps, and then crossing each one off as we complete it,and with this we’ll realize that we are making progress towards your ultimate goal. However, we don’t need a complete plan in place to rise to the challenge and embrace its possibilities. Achieve greater success by continually updating our action plan and integrating the new information and ideas we uncover.
5. Stick With It!
Remember, goal setting is an ongoing activity not just a means to an end. Build in reminders to keep ourselves on track, and make regular time-slots available to review our goals. Our end destination may remain quite similar over the long term, but the action plan we set for ourselves along the way can change significantly. Make sure the relevance, value, and necessity remain high.
My other posts in this Blog on ACHIEVING GOALS :
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