ON DEC 17, 1903, two young Americans, Orville and Wilbur Wright, designed the first aircraft — a contraption with wings and an engine — that flew for a few seconds and then crash landed. On that day, 100 years back, mankind had entered the threshold of a new era, the air age, which was to revolutionize human progress at a pace not known to mankind before.
Today, 100 years of aviation are being celebrated in America, UK and European countries to honour these great pioneers and the joy and benefits that flying has brought to the world. Aviation during the last 100 years has led to unsurpassed inventions and discoveries which have contributed significantly to scientific, technological, industrial and human progress. With passenger jets able to traverse oceans at speeds in excess of 500 miles per hour and Concorde jets at supersonic speed touching the fringes of space, travel time has been reduced from months to hours. From the boomerangs used by Australian aborigines for hunting birds, its use as an airflow, able to lift a jumbo jet into the sky, is indeed a marvel and a tribute to man’s imagination and human ingenuity.
The biggest contribution of aviation to civilization is the conservation of time. Time is money and the most valuable element of life. It influences every aspect of human existence. Saving time is saving money and effort. Time-saving is an invaluable contribution of aviation for industrial, trade, business and consumer promotion. Flying thus impacts on everything that man does or plans to achieve. It has accelerated human thinking, initiative and incentive to conquer space. It has enabled man to land on the Moon and reach planets deep in outer space. Flying has proven the Napoleon dictum: “Nothing is impossible.” It has provided incentive to the human mind to achieve the impossible. It has created the urge to conquer and control Nature. Flying is a marvel of human intelligence, ingenuity and dynamism. It has boosted the progress of science and technology to new heights.
During the last 100 years of aviation history, flying has not only facilitated traffic, i.e. movement of goods and services, it has also created an urge for travel and tourism. Far-off touristic places, sunny beaches, mountain resorts, historical monuments, jungle and desert safaris are now within reach of the middle class at affordable prices. The economies of many countries now depend entirely on tourism, made possible by jumbo jets spanning oceans and continents. Millions travel by air on domestic and international routes every day. Millions of tons of freight, specially perishable goods, are being flown daily across thousands of miles by aircraft. The fast movement of passengers and freight by aircraft have contributed significantly to an improved global economy and to the ongoing industrial and technology revolution.
This is an appropriate occasion to pay tribute to the leaders of aviation and specially to the hundreds of thousands of airline pilots, cabin and ground crews, engineers, technicians and traffic officials whose untiring efforts over the years have brought joy to the millions who shuttle across the sky in comfort and safety.
The peaceful use of the aeroplane has progressed simultaneously with its use as a weapon of war. After World War-I (1914-18) aircraft were continuously redesigned for aerial combat and as platforms for weapon delivery. By 1910-12, European nations and the United States were engaged in a race to design and manufacture better fighter and later bomber aircraft.
The induction of biplanes in the ordinance inventory of European nations and the United States during and after WW-I revolutionized the art of war. Progress was at break-neck speed and by the time Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), fully equipped with thousands of Stuka dive bombers and Messerchimt fighters, helped Hitler’s Blitzkrieg to victories against Czechoslovakia, Poland, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Hungary and France.
Later, in the 1965 Indo-Pak war, a handful of Pakistani fighter pilots destroyed the bulk of the Indian Air Force in air combat and by air strikes of IAF Pathankot and bombing of several other IAF bases. Better leadership, training and superior weapons contributed to the PAF victory in the air war.
The definition of air power as stated in The Story of Pakistan Air Force takes a panoramic look at the entire spectrum of functions which comprise air power today. It states, “At one end of this spectrum is the helicopter gunship hovering over a battlefield, killing tanks and raining bullets, rockets (missiles) upon pockets of enemy resistance, literally as if a segment of artillery had found a way to rise above the ground in order to broaden its horizon and extend its range. At the other extreme are supersonic bombers and missiles carrying nuclear war heads, which travel thousands of miles to obliterate the enemy’s industrial and population centres. In between there is military aviation offering air power for a wide variety of roles.”
Air power can bring about a quick and decisive result to the outcome of war. Arab-Israeli wars; the 1991 Gulf War, Kosovo war, the April 2003 Allied invasion of Iraq prove the point here.
A nation with a strong air force gains a distinct advantage for the exercise of political and military power both in peace and war. Pakistan cannot afford to forget the words of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah: “A country without a strong air force is at the mercy of any aggressor. Pakistan must build up its air force as quickly as possible. It must be an efficient air force second to none.”
