Aviation as Inspiration
What is it about aviation that so many of us find captivating and inspiring? What exactly is it that draws us to the windows at the airport watching those giant machines maneuver their way on the tarmac and off into the skies? Whether you are an aviation aficionado or an average passenger, there’s something about aircraft that grabs our attention and commands our respect time and time again.
Aviation’s influence can be found everywhere. The world of fashion has drawn from aviation for decades, dating back to 1933 when Amelia Earhart’s started her clothing line “Amelia Fashions”. Today, bomber jackets, aviator jackets, sunglasses, and watches remain staples in many non-pilot wardrobes.
Planes have also fascinated painters and printers dating back to the early 20th century, when Louis Blériot became the first person to fly an aircraft across the English channel. This feat inspired artists like Ernest Montaut, Robert Delaunay and Kazimir Malevich to turn to aircraft for inspiration for their works of art in the following years.
So again, what is it? What drives people to dress like pilots despite no intention of acquiring a pilot’s license? Perhaps it is the sense of adventure that flying represents. What compels a painter to dedicate their entire craft to depicting flight? Is it the miracle of flight itself? Is it the appreciation of the determination and ingenuity that was required for humanity to find a way to traverse the sky? What about the freedom? Before flight, certain parts of the world were essentially off-limits to most people. With modern international travel, you can be anywhere in the world in less than 48 hours.
CGI content created by Pacmin Studios
Perhaps the answer lies with the architects. Architects have been influenced by aviation since its invention, in which the mere ability to generate aerial views of landscapes pushed architects to think and design beyond the ground plane. Aviation has influenced specific building design as well, most notably with the Streamline Moderne movement of the 1930s, in which architects brought the aerodynamic design of the era’s commercial airplanes to their buildings by incorporating low horizontal lines, smooth sides, and curves instead of pointed corners.
So why turn to a flying machine to design something that will never leave the ground? According to Swiss-French Architect Le Corbusier, there is an answer. In his 1927 book Towards a New Architecture, Le Corbusier posits the following:
“The lesson of the airplane is not primarily in the forms it has created, and above all we must learn to see in an airplane not a bird or a dragonfly, but a machine for flying; the lesson of the airplane lies in the logic which governed the enunciation of the problem and which led to its successful realization. When a problem is properly stated, in our epoch, it inevitably finds its solution.”
Le Corbusier argues the specific marvel of an aircraft comes from its primary focus on functionality. Aircraft design follows a strict mission: it must fly safely and reliably. An aircraft designer does not have the freedom to develop frivolous features. Anything included in the design of an aircraft must first serve or at least allow for the primary mission of safe flight to be accomplished. Despite all that, aircraft design is not simply pure function. Aircraft designs have continued to become more sophisticated and beautiful throughout the decades all while still managing to accomplish their functional mission. According to Le Corbusier, it is the marriage of the ingenuity and the aesthetic beauty that makes aircraft so inspiring.
While Le Corbusier’s idea is certainly helpful and interesting, the truth is there is no single answer to the question of why we find aviation to be so captivating and inspiring. There are bound to be as many answers as there are people. There is certainly no “correct way” to appreciate the continual evolution of aviation.
So whatever fuels your love, we’re happy to be a part of the journey.
By Max Ouweleen
Marketing Coordinator at Pacmin Studios and The Model Shop
About Pacmin Studios
Pacmin Studios has been serving the aviation and transportation industries with creative physical and digital models and exhibits since 1946.
Known for producing high quality custom aircraft display models, Pacmin Studios has evolved to provide a suite of additional services, including graphic design, CAD, CGI rendering and animation, livery design, and other transportation marketing solutions.
