Despite powered flight’s mere century or so of development, it has come an awfully long way in that time. From frail craft of rag and tube to supersonic fighters of savage stealth, the range of creation seems to have only been limited by the imagination.

Yet within this sphere of rapid change and new frontiers, there have also been craft that have created their own legends. Whether in the form the Supermarine Spitfire’s classic lines, or the global reliability of the pioneering Douglas DC-3, certain aircraft have a means to charm their way into history, whilst others do not. Some have burst into the headlines announcing a revolution of sorts, while others have slowly endeared themselves through the years like a dependable friend. Occasionally, a machine will do both; the Boeing 747 is such an aeroplane.

I recently flew on the flight deck of the impressive Boeing 747-8 Freighter; an aircraft that has made a massive stride in extending the longevity of this already venerated aircraft. To add some context, it must be considered that the first Boeing 747 took to the skies on February 9th, 1969 and at the time represented a quantum leap from the already successful Boeing 707. Since that time nearly 1,500 have been built and variants have served in roles as varied as “Air Force One” to the aircraft used to piggy-back the Space Shuttle home. It changed the face of international travel and the bottom line for many of its operators. Yet despite such a tremendous history, it seemed that after 40 years its race may have been run as the Airbus A380 became the modern monolith and mammoth twin-jets began to stretch across many of the routes the 747 had called home. But the 747 still had one more card to play.

The 747-8 boasts a new wing, with both stylish and effective raked wingtips as well as engine and flight deck technology common to its younger stable-mate, the Boeing 787. In addition to the 747-8F freighter, there is the 747-8I ‘Intercontinental’ passenger version with a stretched fuselage and an increased fuel capacity compared to its 747-400 predecessor. The 747-8 is a modern, more efficient model of a proven performer that will see the type flying even further into the 21st Century.

Through the astute, ongoing adaptation of an established aircraft, the Boeing 747 has not only survived, but flourished, while other models have come and gone. In the beginning it was a wide-body revolutionary, with its upper deck and enormous capacity. However, its ability to remain at the top of its field is by every count equally impressive.

While the 747 has proven to be a giant in both name and nature, a team of aerospace engineers have been busily starting their own revolution at the opposing end of the slide rule. Far from a long range mammoth, they have been exploring the possibilities of air travel on a very small scale. However, the project is only small in terms of physical dimensions as its potential has this aircraft fighting well above its weight. This is no “Jumbo Jet”; in fact it is the “Puffin”.

Born from a Doctoral degree by aerospace engineer, Mark Moore, the Puffin is a concept aircraft designed to uplift a sole occupant. On the face of it, that doesn’t sound too special, however, consider that the craft is electrically powered and stands upright on four legs before lifting off vertically and transitioning into level flight with the pilot lying prone. Offering VTOL capability and reasonable horizontal flight performance in a manner reminiscent of the VF22 Osprey, this little bird packs a punch.

The Puffin is a far cry from the novel ‘rocket’ back packs that have emerged from time to time since the Germans first investigated the subject in World War Two. The pilot is enclosed and by virtue of its electric powerplant it is not only efficient, but stealthy. Being low on both noise and thermal signature, potential roles for the Puffin include the rapid deployment of elite troops and the delivery of supplies as an unmanned vehicle. Its quiet noise footprint would also render it desirable in a civil application as a personal transport.

With a basic weight well under 200 kg, including the 45kg battery, the Puffin has the ability to cruise around 140kt and sprint to 280kt. As with all electric vehicles, the battery technology is a limiting factor and gives the Puffin a range of only about 80 kilometres for the moment, but that is bound to improve along with the batteries. This is no longer the stuff of cartoons like ‘The Jetsons’, this is an emerging frontier with the evolving technology to support the concept. The first third scale unmanned Puffin is set to fly shortly and the interest in this project is bound to grow.

Behind the great aerospace advances are the men in the white coats with their vision and their science. In a field of endeavour so often associated with wings, gold bars and epaulettes, these ‘shadow men’ are the unsung heroes of the aerospace industry. They conjure the concepts and breathe life into them through uncompromising calculation. Without them, the 747 could not become a legend and the Puffin could not become reality. As a planet, we would never have heard the words about “one small step for a man...”

We were once told that the sky was the limit, but this has been proven not to be the case. As legends continue to fly farther and faster and new birds make their first tentative hops, it is worth considering the legacy of the men, women and machines that have gone before. For aviation, sometimes the way ahead will involve extracting one more dance out of a proven performer, while other tasks will call for an entirely new approach. As with so many aspects of life, the choice may come down simply to something old, something new.

Title image from NASA.

Where does the time go? This year marked the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. Few of us who were around at the time can forget the TV image of the conflagration and spiralling clouds of smoke lingering silently in the sky. The shocked faces looking skyward and the stilted commentary drowned in disbelief.

Yet sacrifice has always walked close beside the pursuit of new frontiers. Over the centuries, countless explorers and seaborne vessels failed to return as they sought the edge of the earth in search of new lands. Similarly, as the new realms of sky and space availed themselves, a new generation of pioneer put their lives on the line.

Otto Lilienthal, the great German aviation pioneer of the late 19th century set new benchmarks in the pursuit of manned flight with his gliders. Credited by the Wright brothers for his research, Lilienthal paid the ultimate price in 1896 when one of his gliders fell to earth. He was not the first and ultimately proved to be far from the last.

The early aviators were faced with huge adversity. Their machines were frail and the understanding of aerodynamics was in its infancy. Even as the technology of their machines developed over the decades, they still stretched their fledgling machines to the absolute limits of their performance and endurance. Shrinking the globe was a mammoth task and aviation seemingly wanted to accelerate the process. Air races, prize money, Government grants and celebrity were just some of the incentives, but the driving force ultimately came from within. Very few individuals would put their life on the line solely for material gain; the challenge was undoubtedly a prime motivator.

Yet time and again they perished trying. And these were not purely first time novices that history never even knew to forget, these were names established in the halls of aviation fame; Charles Kingsford Smith, Wiley Post, Amelia Earhart, Bert Hinkler, Bill Lancaster and Amy Johnson, to name but a handful. In one way or another, they perished in the very style in which they had lived their lives.

Their sacrifices have not been forgotten, nor did their losses answer all of the questions that aerospace was to ask of its people. As man sought to go higher, farther and faster, the boundaries were often pushed to breaking point and the human link was often the first to fold first. Swept wings, jet engines, supersonic flight, pressurised hulls and the frontier of space continued to ask questions of the engineers, physicists and test pilots. Too often, it claimed many lives before an answer was ultimately found.

The great British aviation pioneer and designer, Sir Geoffrey DeHavilland, lost one of his sons while test flying a new generation jet aircraft, the DH108 Swallow. Another son died in a mid-air collision. The home of flight research in the United States, Edwards Air Force Base, has seen more than its share of triumph and tragedy. It was home to the ‘X-planes’ and saw Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier in 1947. Neil Armstrong cut his teeth at Edwards on the likes of the X-15 before fate would ultimately determine that space was his destiny. Yet in the shadow of the advances loiter the losses and its streets bear the names of many of those heroes. Even the base is named after USAF test pilot, Glen Edwards, who perished with his crew testing the YB-49 ‘Flying Wing’.

The sky was not the limit and soon space became the new frontier. As the Mercury astronauts were launched into orbit with increasing frequency, the Soviet Union was doing so with equal success in the ‘space race’. Both sides encountered losses throughout this period of rapid technological advancement, including the horrific fireball of Apollo 1 on the launch pad during testing at Cape Canaveral. And while the brilliant failure of Apollo 13 was a very close call, the loss of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986 reminded us that flight exploration is still a very dangerous business. The loss of Columbia on re-entry in 2003 re-affirmed the fact.

But for all the losses, ultimately the cause has advanced. In fact it has advanced at a pace that only the imagination would have dared to conjure a century ago. Within the span of an average human life, aviation developed from flimsy frames limping a few hundred feet to man kicking up moon dust with his feet. It is an achievement that all humanity can be proud of and has made the world a smaller place. Its applications have been varied, from powerful war machines to vehicles of tremendous humanitarian aid and from craft of leisure to a means of rescue on cold, dark nights.

But as aviation continues forth, it is vital to remember those who have paid the ultimate price along the way, for it is their courage that has allowed this field of human endeavour to grow like no other. Their willingness to strap into confined cockpits and push the envelope has allowed the rest of the world to reap the benefits of air travel and aerospace in a far more relaxed and safer manner. In aviation, the safety of the masses has often been the achieved at a high cost to an individual.

Furthermore, the price of human life should serve to ward off complacency about forging new frontiers in the sky. It is not our natural realm; we are guests in the air above the earth. We should always pay due respect to our host, for the moment we don’t, the skies have the potential to remind us of our true status in the most brutal manner.

So as we consider the loss of ‘Challenger’, we should offer thanks to her crew and to all of those who have paid the ultimate price in pushing those boundaries in the sky. In tragedy we must always seek to find a greater purpose and learn from the past, so as to avoid history repeating itself. However, despite the lessons learnt, no loss will be the last as we move forward; unfortunately it is the price those heroes pay on our behalf. This cold reality has been with us since the beginning. As he lay on his death-bed the day after his fall to earth, the great Otto Lilienthal uttered, "Kleine Opfer müssen gebracht werden".................. "Small sacrifices must be made.”

(c) Owen Zupp 2011.