| Up, up, and away. Do you suppose Orville | | | | the national operators. There are so many |
| Wright had any idea of the enormity of his | | | | local, small airline operators that we don't |
| invention? That the world would be forever | | | | have room to even begin. And, let's not |
| changed, by the single possible opportunity | | | | forget that the United States Air force is as |
| of flight? | | | | strong and flight ready as ever. Boeing, |
| | | | perhaps the largest manufacturer worldwide of |
| Airlines, cell phones, and automobiles have | | | | airplanes, sees to it that our government is |
| made possible the most mobile society in the | | | | fully equipped for all sorts of airline |
| history of the world. Airlines have made | | | | missions. The government has always |
| possible the movement of man from one side of | | | | sponsored the advancement of flight, whether |
| the continent to the other in just a few | | | | by funding private ventures or by allocating |
| short hours. How did this great marvel of | | | | tax money to work on research and |
| machine come into existence? It all began | | | | development. One more than one occasion our |
| with a thought. The thought developed into | | | | wonderfully managed airlines have needed |
| an idea. And because two men believed in the | | | | government assistance to help bail them out |
| possibility, the idea took shape and form. | | | | of bankruptcy proceedings. The greatest |
| An airplane was born. | | | | thorn in the side of airline companies in |
| | | | existence today is the inability to operate |
| Today's great jumbo jets have little in | | | | profitably. |
| common with the early mechanical birds of | | | | |
| flight, except the ability to catapult man | | | | All airlines today offer daily services to |
| into the air. We fly today as if it were one | | | | the major cities in the U.S., and most |
| of the most natural behaviors for mankind. | | | | connect with the smaller airlines in the |
| As if there has always been the opportunity | | | | rural areas of our country. This is done so |
| of flight. Past the point of invention, the | | | | that service is available to all travelers, |
| US Government was the first to actually take | | | | in the hopes of filling the aircraft with as |
| flight to a commercial level. A footnote | | | | many paying passengers as possible. Airlines |
| here about the government: If you will | | | | must at some point achieve the dream of |
| notice, some of the greatest inventions of | | | | profitable operation, and begin to look at |
| mankind would never have "gotten off the | | | | life in the black, instead of the red. |
| ground" were it not for the intervention of | | | | |
| the US government. Air mail service was | | | | Now, as you sit back in your nice, |
| begun in the United States in 1918, and thus | | | | air-conditioned flight seat, the beautiful |
| the commercial exploitation of flight. | | | | cloudless sky introducing the sun, as it |
| | | | peeps over the horizon, the history of the |
| Since that point in time, the airplane | | | | airplane and the airline companies doesn't |
| inventions and aircraft uses have quadrupled. | | | | cross your mind. You simply want to know |
| So have the airline companies. Today we | | | | what movie they're showing during the |
| have Delta, Southwest, American Airlines, | | | | flight....... |
| TWA, United and Northwest. These are just | | | | |