S2, Ep2 How did humans learn to fly?

Once the heavens were the domain of just gods and angels – which is one of the reasons why Icarcus fell back to earth. Humans only really mastered flight when they developed their understanding of two crucial concepts: lift and thrust.

In the early 1900s, with the invention of the petrol engine, the Wright brothers took to the sky in a biplane, albeit for only 59 seconds at first. By 1949, when the first commercial jet-engine airliner crossed the Atlantic Ocean, 44 passengers were considered a lot. Today the world’s largest airliner – the mighty Airbus A380 – can hold more than 600 people and fly over 8,000 miles without refuelling. And, aeronautical engineers are working on improving the design and efficiency of the planes of the future even further. 

This podcast is read by Luke Irwin with sound editing by Max Watson. The script was written by Tomáš Klička and Nicola Kličková, and produced by Camilla Akers-Douglas and Henrietta McMicking. Our theme music is by the amazing James Burrell

To contact us, email camilla@wonderaudio.co.uk or henrietta@wonderaudio.co.uk 

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