I would kill to learn to fly

Fortunately, today we don't have to be willing to kill to learn to fly. However, in 1893—ten years before the Wright Brothers would make history in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina—a suggestion was made to that effect. Enjoy this little snippet from the Proceedings of the International Conference on Aerial Navigation, which took place in August of 1893:

Discussion by Professor Todd, of Amherst College.

A friend suggest that criminals, in lieu of treatment by hanging or electrocution, be detailed for duty on flying-machines for the common cause of science and humanity. A man convicted of slaughtering his wife, for example, instead of being forced to edify a handful of curious onlookers with the ghastly spectacle of capital punishment, might be permitted first to receive the coaching of some expert in aerodromics; then, on the day set for public exhibition, if both machine and aviator go to smash, well and good—the criminal would have had to suffer death anyway, and the builder of the machine would feel compensated by the opportunity for testing his device; while if the trial succeeded, the gain to the art of flight may be enormous, and the culprit will come down presumably frightened enough to choose a life of virtue forever thereafter.

Next week, I'll go into "one of the most remarkable letters in the history of science" as the unknown from nowhere Wilbur Wright drops a line to the eminent and already-successful Octave Chanute, beginning a rich and fruitful relationship. See you next Wednesday!

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The author is an airline pilot, flight instructor, and adjunct college professor teaching aviation ground schools. He holds an ATP certificate with ERJ-145 and DHC-8 type ratings, as well as CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI, and IGI certificates, and is a Master-level participant in the FAA's WINGS program and a former FAASafety Team representative. He is on Facebook as Larry the Flying Guy, has a Larry the Flying Guy YouTube channel, and is on Twitter as @Lairspeed.

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