Airplanes In The 1920s Essay Research Paper

Airplanes In The 1920s Essay, Research Paper

Airplanes in the 1920s

The 1920s were a time of changes in many areas of the American lifestyle. Examples

include the changing roles of women, the African American struggle for equality, the changing

sound of music, new forms of literature, growth of cities, and the development of airplanes and

their uses. Major aircraft development started during World War I because America was striving

to be stronger than any other country. War brought about the development of fighter and bomber

airplanes; machine guns were mounted onto planes because of their rapid firepower. The U.S.

had put a lot of money into such aircraft during the war, so after the war was over and we had

won, people saw no need to develop aircraft any further since WWI was supposed to be the war

to end all wars. Around 1920, however, people realized that WWI really hadn.t put an end to all

wars, so the government saw a reason to put money into the development of aircraft again.

During the 1920s, airplane design became more advanced and planes were used to fly mail and

people.

In the early 1920s, the Air Force was equipped with outdated WWI aircraft and any

replacements they got adhered to the same basic design. The only improvements were ones

similar to better radio equipment, better instrumentation, and oxygen for high altitude flying.

Much later on, planes were being made out of metal instead of the former fabric stretched over a

wood frame design to increase service years of a plane and to reduce reliance on imported wood

and fabric coverings. There had been numerous attempts beforehand to make metal planes, but

the first successful all metal plane was called Short Silver Streak. Earlier, most planes were a

biplane layout with fixed tailwheel landing gear and two fixed machine guns. In 1920 the Wright

R.B. highwing monoplane racer was developed with retractable landing gear. It wasn.t until the

1930s, however, that retractable landing gear appeared on anything but experimental or racing

aircraft. The greatest spurs of technological advancement were racing and record breaking.

Races such as the Pulitzer Trophy landplace races (U.S. only) and the Schneider Trophy

Seaplance races (international, but most heavily involved were Italy, the U.K. and the U.S.A.)

caused the development of high-output engines, advanced aerodynamics, and public enthusiasm

and awareness in aviation matters. (Batchelor, p42-56)

Record breaking got airplanes flying faster, farther, and higher. Aircraft built specifically

for record-breaking were no good for other things because they were a small, optimized plane, but

transferring specific features onto the bodies of airplanes as a whole allowed for the steady

improvement of aircraft. The military sponsored many aircraft to try to break records in

expectation of technical spin-offs that would improve service aircraft. These planes usually set

many of the records. Civil aviation excelled in the areas of around the world flying with stops

and nonstop flights across the ocean. The most vital exploit of the time was the first solo,

nonstop crossing of the North Atlantic by Charles Lindbergh. In May of 1927 he flew from New

York to Paris in 33 hours and 39 minutes. The plane he flew, The Ryan NYP, was built

specifically for this flight. This plane had the unusual feature of forward vision by periscope

because the fuel tank occupied the complete depth of the fuselage forward of the cockpit. Then

in 1928 Charles Kingsford-Smith crossed the Pacific for the first time: he went from California to

Australia. If a plane could make it across the ocean, it could certainly make it across the country;

then why not find a good use for it. (Batchelor, p56-62)

Many people thought a good use for airplanes would be to have them carry mail.

Congress had the money as early as 1917 for a trial airmail run. In 1918 a service between New

York and Washington Got under way. Flights were made by army planes and pilots until about

half a year later wen the Post Office began putting it.s own fleet to work. Despite the

hazards-three airmail pilots killed in 1919, nine the next year-the Post Office extended its routes.

In 1921, fearing that incoming president Warren Harding would do away with the airmail service,

the Post Office put on a demonstration showing how fast they could go from coast to coast: a

team of pilots carried the mail from San Francisco to New York in a record-breaking 33 hours

and 20 minutes. This convinced the new administration that the airmail service should not only

be kept, but improved. The government began installing beacons along the transcontinental

airway. There were revolving beacons flashing into the night sky and lighted emergency landing

fields every 25 to 30 miles along the way. The first stretch to be marked was from Chicago to

Cheyenne, Wyoming. By 1924 the lighted airway had been completed from New York to San

Franc

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