The Human Endeavour as evidenced by the Ancient Indian (Pushpaka Vimana) and the Greek Mythological texts (the flight of ICARUS and the Legend of Pegasus), has been to soar like a bird in a bid to get away from Mother Earth, perhaps in a rather naive attempt at getting away from all the strife, trials and tribulations facing him.

This was the onset of the ‘Aviation-era’ as we know it today. While, on the one hand, the effort was to fly faster, higher and farther, on the other, the inner calling remained one of soaring above the surface of the Earth and move in any desired direction like ‘Superman’. The greatest desire remains static at a single point above the Earth, quite similar to a bird. However, his efforts at achieving a true ‘Hover’ took time, effort, and quite a bit of convincing. Meanwhile…

His obsession with flying and the desire to use it to meet his parochial military-related needs became even more inflamed instead of being fulfilled. This resulted in an ever-expanding horizon, which aimed to reach beyond the solar system. To achieve this, the space frontier was breached, and complex systems were invented.

Out of touch with his original need, he removed himself from the machine and invented ‘Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)’, which could now be controlled by him from a distance; from the ground, air, and even space.

Hence, the trials and tribulations on Mother Earth’s surface, which he possibly wanted to escape from originally, had accompanied him into the new domains of Air, Space and beyond. With the UASs, he ‘infected’ these domains too and returned to the very point he started from.

The Science Fiction writers of yore would have been called the realists of today. Likewise, the dreamers of today would be the realists of tomorrow. All of them obsessed with going further and further….towards the unknown.

So would the human obsession and quest to fly higher and farther ever end?

In all probability not, as the human race towards his own ever-expanding goals, and an unknown destination continues.

Perhaps the quest should have ended when man soared for the first time in a tethered balloon. Quite content and happy to escape the trials and tribulations…..even for a short time and savour the feeling of hovering at a point, all the while tethered to a place he called Mother Earth!!!!

Aviation Simplified

The “Vertilift-Aviation-Insights” is a blog to take a laid back look at the world of aviation with a view of slowing down rather than speeding up, of remaining close to the ground, rather than flying high and of focussing on the human element of the journey already undertaken.

Happy Reading !!!!