nTwo bicycle makers from Ohio started the movement that shook the world when they flew the first powered heavier than air flying machine over the sands of Kitty Hawk South Carolina on December 17, 1903. Aviation was treated in a similar manner to religion where the nation celebrated the day of its creation with air shows and ceremonies commemorating the Wrights.
nWhen Charles Lindberg flew across the Atlantic Ocean he was an instant hero. People were dedicated to the feat with the realization that for the first time it was proved possible for travel by airplane across the oceans and a whole new world of possibilities had been presented. For the new amazing possibilities and potential for aviation it literally seemed that the sky was the limit.
nCorn Joseph J. The Winged Gospel America’s Romance with Aviation, 1900-1950. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.
n The Winged Gospel is all about the positive reaction of America during the development of aviation. Corn sums up the primary focus of his book when he writes:
n“The airplane itself did not cause these developments; indeed, to speak of a technology’s ‘impact’ on culture and society here is misleading. What happened was that Americans took a tradition of technological messianism, combined it with a long-standing symbolic associations of flight with the divine, blended firmly held values such as individualism, democracy, and privacy into an intellectual and emotional response to the airplane.” (Corn p.137)
nIt shows explicitly how it was idealized and viewed as the wave of the future. “This is the history of a love affair. It documents the extraordinary affection millions of American men, women, and children felt for the flying machine during the half century after its invention in 1903.”(Corn p.vii)
nIt discusses key points on the development of Aviation such as the Inaugural first flight by the Wright Brothers on December 17th 1903 and the first solo Atlantic crossing by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 “The celebration of Lindbergh and his flight extended beyond parades, speeches, and public gatherings. Americans named babies, schools, and streets after the flier.”(Corn p.23)
nAir mindedness is a term coined by Joseph Corn in is book The Winged Gospel. It basically means the attitude and drives to develop flight and the movement of embracing the culture of aviation. Monumental events and advancements that pushed the limits of airplane performance and endurance captivated the world during the prewar years.
n“More than anything, the airplane symbolized the promise of the future. Americans in this period viewed mechanical flight as portending a wondrous era of peace and harmony, of culture and prosperity. This was the promise of the ‘winged gospel’”. (Corn p.vii)
nAs Joseph Corn presented here is that the Airplane caught the world up in a state of wonder and amazement that was thought to bring peace and prosperity to the world.
nCorn noted that it even went beyond general jubilation when he wrote: “The celebration of Lindbergh and his flight extended beyond parades, speeches, and public gatherings. Americans named babies, schools, and streets after the flier.”(Corn p.23)
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