We typically think of flying as a type of transport which naturally is true. But how much of a role does aviation actually play in our lives?
Let us first look at just one plane. Take the Boeing 737. This aircraft was first introduced in the early 1960s and it and the plane has been in service virtually constantly ever since. Naturally, there have been some changes. Slight tweaks and adjustments to enhance performance and safety for example. This is just the same as other airplane. Consider this though: there is a Boeing 737 taking off somewhere in the world every five seconds. Just think about that for a minute. Of course, this is merely one type of plane. These figures come from data gathered from dependable air traffic movement sources.
As for other aircraft, well just about every time you turn on your TV I guarantee that you’ll see an image of a Boeing 747 – or a jumbo jet as it is more widely known. These move between 400 and 500 individuals at time over distances of thousands of KM every day.
Above I have provided examples of just two of popular planes in the world nowadays. Planes we are familiar with and ones that if we fly occasionally, we are likely to find ourselves on for both short and long haul flights.
Let’s explore a different way that aviation could possibly affect us all. Many hospitals these days have facilities for landing helicopters. These wonderful aircraft are used for a range of tasks in our daily lives. The one to which I refer is the lifesaving aircraft that conveys a patient from something like an accident in the speediest way, thereby cutting down the time before the person is given vital treatment.
Of course, we might also come across the helicopter – quite often daily – whenever we travel on motorways to our workplaces. They observe traffic conditions and congestion and have the ability to report whenever there is a necessity to send out emergency vehiclesin the case of road problems.
An increasing amount of private aircraft are to be found in the skies. Companies invest in air transportation as a way to reduce the issue of road traffic jams and congestion. They are no longer the toys of the rich. they are instead a rational means of conducting business in a quick and effective way.
I’ve made reference mostly to the subject of aviation in our normal daily lives and above all civil aircraft. Nevertheless, we do not tend to think about the fact that we’re also continually being protected by military planes that patrol our skies. Often we do not hear or see them – but they are there.
Every day there are military aircraft taking off and landing somewhere in the world, often not taking part in military exercises, but in fact performing crucial humanitarian acts like supplying food to impoverished people and delivering much needed medicines to various parts of the world.
Perhaps we should also think about how every one of these assorted kinds of aircraft are kept flying. I’m not actually referring to the dedicated pilots and air crews here, although they play a vital role in guaranteeing our safety safeguarding us when we fly, but rather I’m talking about the technicians on the ground who take care of and maintain the planes. These people utilise their abilities and knowledge on a daily basis, together with specialist aviation tools, and the fact that travelling by air is just about the safest way to travel is thanks to their diligence and professionalism.
You’d be amazed at the range of specialist tools that such professionals make use of. For example, you may recognise some tools like screwdrivers and sockets as being the types of tools you would also find in automotive tool kits but other more unusual tools such as endoscopes you probably wouldn’t have seen before at all.
Of course it’s certainly very easy to take for granted all of the advantages that air travel brings us. When you consider it though it is now something that we depend upon a great deal and simply wouldn’t be capable of living without.