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Dreams of Flight: Couple Publishes Book About the First Century of Flight
Janet Bednarek, chair of the history department at the University of Dayton, and her husband, Michael, have published a timely book, Dreams of Flight: General Aviation in the United States.
June 20, 2003
Dayton, Ohio -- On the eve of the 100th anniversary, flight still captures the imagination of the public, but there won't be "an airplane in every garage" as some people predicted after the Wright brothers' historic flight, according to Janet Bednarek, an aviation historian at the University of Dayton.
Bednarek, chair of the history department at the University of Dayton, and her husband, Michael, have published a timely book, Dreams of Flight: General Aviation in the United States (Texas A&M University Press).
What does the future hold for non-commercial, non-military aviation?
"It's a different flying world out there," observed Bednarek, who added an epilogue to the book after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Temporary flight restrictions have become a way of life for pilots in the U.S. (since 9/11). Despite strong protests from many in aviation, they are issued frequently and often with little advance notice. It's made it a lot more difficult to casually fly an airplane anymore."
A portion of the book, which is geared to the general public, focuses on how aviation inspired women and African Americans, who saw aviation careers as a way to greater equality in society.
"While both military and commercial aviation for the most part were closed to women throughout much of the 20th century, women were able to find a niche, albeit a small one, in general aviation," said Bednarek, pointing out that women joined the ranks of the barnstormers, were air racers, owned and operated flight schools and worked as bush pilots in Alaska. Bednarek belongs to an elite club. Only 6 percent of the nation's licensed pilots are women.
"Both women and blacks were prohibited from participating in commercial and military aviation until World War II," she noted. "African American males began breaking down the boundaries in the 1940s, but it would be the 1970s before women of any race found the doors to
commercial and military aviation open to them."
Although the airplane is one of the most influential inventions of the past century, the number of licensed pilots has declined from a high of just over 827,000 in 1980 to nearly 650,000 today, according to Bednarek. The cost, including liability insurance, puts small aircraft out of the price range of most people.
"One bright spot is the emergence of the homebuilt movement," she said. "Since the early years of aviation, backyard tinkerers had produced their own aircraft either from scratch or from parts purchased from manufacturers."
It's reminiscent of how Wilbur and Orville Wright built the world's first flying machine in the back of their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. "In some ways, after a century of flight, we've come full circle," Bednarek said.
Bednarek, who names test pilot and military leader Jimmy Doolittle as one of her heroes, helps students appreciate the influence of aviation through a history of aviation course at the University of Dayton. In the spring, she helped coordinate the "Aviation and the Human Experience" symposium at the University of Dayton and three other local colleges. She also serves on the board of directors of the National Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2001, she published America's Airports: Airfield Development, 1918-1947.
"Though I am not sure there is a real point to the desire of many to rank just about everything, an argument could be made that the airplane is the most important invention of the 20th century because it fundamentally changed the way we viewed the world," she mused. "It made the world a lot smaller. The quest to go farther, higher, faster not only led to more advanced airplanes but contributed to the exploration of space and to the refinement of the computer. If not the most important, it certainly was very influential."
Although she never flew on an airplane until she was in college, she always wanted to be like Nancy Drew, a fictional plucky teen-age detective. "She could do everything. She could ice skate. She could fly. When I was 10 years old, I wanted to be just like Nancy Drew."
She can also blame, or credit, her husband and co-author, Mike, a retired Air Force officer and aeronautical engineer who took her up in his plane on their first date. "We were flying across the Potomac River and I thought, 'I could marry this guy.' My second thought was 'I want to learn how to do this.'"
For Bednarek, there's no greater adrenaline surge than being airborne. "It's magic," she said. "I've flown mostly low-wing aircraft, and you can see the wind rushing across the wings. When you're up there, you're just cruising along. It's magic."
For media interviews, contact Janet Bednarek at (937) 229-2848 or Janet.Bednarek@notes.udayton.edu.
Contact: Teri Rizvi
OFFICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
300 College Park
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1679
(937) 229-3241
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