Great Ideas Taking Flight

It’s hard to imagine not being able to fly somewhere. We take it for granted that a flight from New York to LA can be accomplished in just over six hours.

Yet human-powered flight was millennia in the making. Throughout November, we celebrate Aviation History Month and the evolution of the unique gift of flight, from kites and gliders to space flight and routine planeloads of passengers jetting around the globe.

The earliest known recorded human-influenced flight dates to 200 B.C. in China when a general flew a kite over enemy territory. Kites continued to be important to the development of aviation. The Wright Brothers employed kites to test their theories of wing warping and used what they learned to create gliders and eventually the plane flown at Kitty Hawk. Today, Hammacher Schlemmer offers you The Kitty Hawk Kite, a replica of the Wrights’ 1903 canard biplane design. It’s a great unique gift idea for any aviation buff. 

Much of aviation’s development has been chronicled in The New York Times History of Aviation. This book, which can be personalized for the recipient, features New York Time articles that focus on aviation throughout the years. Each book presents memorable highlights that span from the momentous first flight of the Wright Brothers to Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and Howard Hughes. History-changing aircraft are covered as well, such as the Hindenberg, rockets, and spacecraft.

For those harboring a secret (or not so secret) desire to be in the cockpit themselves, we recommend The Army Air Corps Leather Jacket, first issued to the U.S. Army aviators in 1931, worn by flight crews throughout World War II, and reissued by the U.S. Air Force in 1987. Made exclusively for Hammacher Schlemmer by the current supplier of leather jackets to the Air Force, this updated classic version has a rugged outer shell of French lambskin. The lining is printed with a pilot’s escape map of England and occupied Europe.

Some time this month, step outside on a crisp, clear fall day and take a good look at the contrails marking the path of a plane. Think about the science and physics it takes to get several hundred tons of plane, people, and cargo up in the air and appreciate the people who make aviation happen.

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