Every generation bemoans the imminent end of the good old days. The Platonists warned that the upstart Aristotelians would be the ruin of ancient Greece. The Aristotelians said the same of the Stoics, and the Stoics predicted civilization would end with the Epicureans. They were all wrong. From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, from…
Author: Mark Mamelson
I, Pilot
Wednesday, 25 November 2065. The day before Thanksgiving: Good evening. Welcome aboard American Airlines flight 2501, nonstop service from Chicago O’Hare to Dallas Fort Worth. I am a Boeing, Seven-Twelve-Seven, Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Streamliner. Assisting me this evening is Captain Buck Futz, whose presence signifies American’s commitment to customer service. As all of my ground…
Empty Promises and the Electron Hustle
Ab Initio From the Beginning It can be persuasively argued that the airplane’s primary purpose is to expediently convey humanity over long distances. Certainly, Wilbur and Orville’s contraption has scratched men’s itches to have fun, haul freight, and fight wars—but reeling in nautical miles at near-mach speeds remains the airplane’s raison d’être. From the dawn…
SMS and the Stigmatization of Pilot Expertise
Disclaimer: The FAA employs over 35,000 individuals, a great many of whom are smart, capable, and dedicated to the advancement of aviation. The fact that I have never, personally, met such an FAA employee in no way confutes the existence thereof. *** There are two types of amateur pilots: those who fly for the sport,…
Rat. “R”-“A”-“T” Rat.
To go forth in black raiments and wreak havoc on the realms of men, to furtively, yet fundamentally, alter the lives of millions of human beings over whom consequence and dumb luck have given you dominion, this is the purview of two creatures: Rattus rattus, the Black rat, and U.S. Federal Judges. The former is…
Biofuel! The Stuff is Going to be Huge—As Soon as We Run Out of Petroleum …
Remember when “green” implied money, not environmentalism? I have a secret for you. It still does. Airline CEOs are handsomely compensated to juggle economic viability and ecological sustainability. In a Darwinian sense, the choices these CEOs make weigh the probability of eventual environmental catastrophe against the certainty of immediate socioeconomic chaos. The world’s markets depend…