My first flight was as a passenger in the back seat of a Piper Pacer in 1954. I was 13. I remember that marvelous event as if it were yesterday. My three children first flew as infants, so missed out on the awesome magic and awe of that first flight.
That first flight of mine was 59 years ago! Think of the changes that have taken place since then. Jet airplanes became the norm. General aviation aircraft improved in capability—due in no small part to avionics—and aerial navigation went from ADF to VORTAC to AREA Navigation to GPS. and autopilots became ubiquitous and amazing.
Did anyone have onboard weather radar in 1954? If not it was right around the corner. Transponders came along some two decades or so later. I distinctly remember that the first time I rented an airplane with a transponder I didn’t turn it on. They told me it would let the guvmint know where I was and what I was doing. I was avoiding the guvmint when possible even back then,
In 1954 there wasn’t a satellite in the sky. Now we use them for everything. Certainly man had never been to the moon, and wouldn’t for another 15 years. I’m convinced that the world is now divided into two groups—those who remember the first moon shot and those who don’t. My group is getting smaller by the day.
As awesome as those 59 years have been, the next 59 will surely be even more awesome. What will happen? I don’t know, just as nobody knew in 1954 what would change before 2013. But, y’all, (that’s southern talk), it’s gonna be amazing!
Surely by then normal people will be traveling in space. Supersonic jets will be routine, and…as I said, I really don’t know.
What will the airport of the future be like? I don’t know that either, but I hope they have trains running from terminals to downtowns (hey, Atlanta has that right now).
The only thing I know for sure is that nothing will be the same. Nothing at all.
