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Yes, it enabled them to not only fail fast, but to fail and live to tell the tale! Much talent and knowledge was lost in the people that died trying to fly befo

Yes, it enabled them to not only fail fast, but to fail and live to tell the tale! Much talent and knowledge was lost in the people that died trying to fly before them. It's also amazing to read about the many pilots who died trying to cross the Atlantic before Charles Lindbergh did it. The journey nearly cost him his life as well, and it took some time before such flights were safe enough to routinely attempt. Early aviators had some serious guts.

jfk13 7y ago
> the many pilots who died trying to cross the Atlantic before Charles Lindbergh did it I hope you're not suggesting that Lindbergh was the first. First non-stop solo flight, yes; but Alcock and Brown flew it 8 years earlier: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/bM5diyl48K/alcock https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/bM5diyl48K/alcock
AceyMan 7y ago
> Early aviators had some serious guts. Here, here! On this note, I must recommend Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann. It's a terrifying and honest account of his experiences in the early days of commercial aviation (Gann's narrative starts in the '30s). Wikipedia citation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate_Is_the_Hunter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate_Is_the_Hunter