In 1926, the Ford Trimotor changed aviation as we know it. Prior to that, folks flew but only a handful as air transport was not only scary, but no fun. There were many reasons for this and in order to introduce the public to the idea of flying from destination to destination, Henry Ford and others came up with the Ford Reliability Tour in 1925. The Ford Trimotor, the first plane with a co-pilot, stewardess and inflight restroom ushered in what we take for granted today (and complain about). In 1939, Roosevelt established the National Aviation Day to celebrate our rich aviation heritage on Orville Wright’s birthday.
The magic that is flight is still evolving. The Ford Trimotor (top image) opened the doors to flight to everyone. It along with a couple of other aircraft sparked the imagination of many a WWII pilot who took their aircraft on dangerous missions so we could enjoy the freedoms we have today. Right after the war, the battle were put aside and air racing picked pack up. The two Super Corsairs (middle image) were part of a new romance that rocketed aircraft design forward for all types of applications. And today, aircraft like the F-22 Raptor (below) and others still protect our skies. Aircraft make is possible for us photographers to follow our passion with our cameras to all parts of the world. Next time you get on a flight that might be late, delayed or is on time, count your blessings we have the system we do, imperfect as it might seem at times. You see a plane fly overheard today, wave and say thanks as they make it possible for us to follow our dreams!
