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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BlackJaw" data-source="post: 1418794" data-attributes="member: 888">Mankind in our own world have been in flight for more then a 100 years.  Gliders and hot air balloons have been around for a long time.  Balloons were used durring the civil war (one of the first "modern" wars, with subs, iron clad ships, a few early machine guns, rail guns, etc).Powered flight in winged crafts happened in 1903, but people had been trying for a long time.  Both water and land based aircraft (landing on water or land) were around shortly there after but they had no real function untill durring WW1.  At first aircrafts were used mostly for scouting and finding targets.  it's said that pilot would wave and salute each other as they flew by to go scout each other's lines.  That didn't last long.  You don't wave to the guy that's helping the enemy target your countrymen.  The pilot started bringing up guns to shoot at each other and grenades to drop over the side.  In a matter of years the planes went from being thing wood, string, and cloth to larger planes that look more like what we think of as a modern aircraft design (Kitty Hawk to the red barron).  They got guns, large bombs, etc.  They got faster, larger, etc.Thus it was only after WW1 that we got aircrafts able to carry small groups of people or fairly large cargo.  I, personaly, think the time span and technology around before WW2 is some of hte more interesting stuff around.  Example: it was only in the time right before WW2 (1930s) that the use had flying aircraft carriers.  That's right.  We had a pair of blimps with internal aircraft hangers.  Planes could be luanched and then brought back into through a trapese crane.  Cool stuff.Durring World War 2, especialy near the end, things got really interesting too.  Flying wing designs, jet planes, etc.  In Korea we got the first decent helicopters, and jets became a major part of Vietnam (although the tactics of that war are a bit odd.  we couldn't shoot or bomb anti-aircraft missle sites unless they were operational, and in order to do it we'd have to send crazy pilots flying right at anti-aircraft missle sites!)  Anyway, after that aircrafts become closer to what we know now.  Jet fighters able to beat the speed of sound, bombers able to travel vast distances, rockets to luanch into space... etc.Of course there are other things to work with.  There are MIT students working on an ornithopter.  A flying craft powered by flapping wings.  Yes, flapping wings.  They were a common concept in sci-fi like the Dune books.</blockquote>

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