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Time of Golden Skies

By Vivian Bock

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Dawn of the Art of Flight
Otto and his stalwart workshop assistant Paul went to the test site, a sandy meadow slope at the Mühlenberg. Fortunately, the slope was not visible from the houses and farms of Derwitz. Otherwise, everything could have failed in the beginning.

It took both of the men to carry the apparatus that was shrouded in an impregnated linen cloth. In the following months they would use a horse cart. In the coming years they would take the train to public demonstrations at remote destinations. For now, they were just trying to avoid the treacherous noise of the wooden wheels which might have lured curious eyes to their windows. The experimental glide apparatus -- made of willow
rods, strings, and shirting cloth -- was cleverly designed to be folded down to simplify transport. They went out in the early evening hours when most of the residents were having supper. The fewer people they met on the boardwalk, the fewer the questions. Uninvited spectators could have caused all sorts of trouble spreading their village chatter.

They had water in the bag, and also iodine and bandages. Both knew that this could quickly become dangerous for Otto. Their excitement was indescribable. It was a warm spring evening. Slight winds were blowing onto the slope. Otto began to test the behavior of his glider whilst running downhill against the wind, being cautious to avoid lifting off the ground. He felt the buoyancy under the wings nearly carry him upward.

Over time, his skills would improve until he could consistently take off, glide, and land safely. It made him becoming rather comfortable with the curious spectators who began to show up to watch. Otto was now a popular attraction, not just for people from the surrounding area. Newspapermen and photographers turned up, and businessmen were pondering how to gain financial benefit from Lilienthal's new breakneck sport.

When the wind was sufficient, Otto frequently completed glides of twenty meters or more down the sloping meadow. He learned to control the flight direction by shifting his lower body and legs. Otto continuously worked to improve his design, struggling to shave of grams, while maintaining adequate strength and stiffness of the framework. Construction was made more challenging by the need to fold down the device for transport. Whenever he wasn't working on it in his workshop in Lichterfelde, he was allowed to store his gliders in Miller Schwach's barn. By building experimental gliders,Lilienthal became the first commercial aircraft manufacturer, yet he remained humble about his craft. Numerous experimental prototypes emerged in addition to the serial 'Normal Gliding Apparatus' built in the premises of his steam engine factory. His customers traveled from afar to acquire one of these magnificent gliders and, of course, to see the first man to fly. More than a century has past since those first primal experiments of hopping and gliding with little more than a kite built of fabric and wood. Today, the spectrum of modern aero sports offers everything, from thermal gliding to skydiving with a wingsuit. We have high-performance gliders made of ultra-light composite materials, and high energy aerobatic aircraft with four hundred horsepower engines. Commercial airliners carry millions of people through the air, worldwide, daily. And something that lacked even wings has landed on the Moon, enabling astronauts to run and jump on the surface, just like the first flying men did on Earth.

Otto Lilienthal and his friends, the famous Wright Brothers, who had paved motorized paths in the air, would be glad about many modern derivations based on their invention. Their hearts were filled with expectation of a positive impact. Hopefully, their efforts could help shift humanity towards future peace on Earth. Traveling in the sky? Would that mean more people can learn foreign languages, or find their love and marriage overseas? New business opportunities? A future world, freed from unrest and conflicts?
Dreams like that might have inspired the ethical guiding principles behind Otto's amazing 'Fliegekunst', the wondrous art of human flight. Sometimes, after his tragic accident, military minds became aware of his invention, soon transforming it into an innovative weapon to kill. Perhaps, it was good for him never to learn that he, unwittingly, had also given birth to the wings of a new tool of war, eventually, enabling the possible eradication of the human race.

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