2003 Essays
Held each year to commemorate the first manned landing on the moon, AIAA SF sponsors an essay contest for 7th and 8th graders. U.S. Savings Bonds of varying denominations are awarded to the first, second, and third place winners in each grade.The theme for this year's contest was "What will be the new developments of flight in the next 100 years?" This year's awards were presented at the July 24 section dinner meeting.
This year's winners are as follows:
7th Grade
8th Grade
Lewis Geist
School: Hoover Middle School, San Francisco
Sponsoring teacher: Dennis Kujawa
Flying into the Future
How will aviation change in the next one hundred years? I believe that airplanes will become a bigger part of world transportation. I think the airplane manufacturers will try to find ways to save money.
One of the ways I think airlines could save money would be by using solar power. Solar panels are a big investment, but in the long run they would cost less. Today only fifteen percent of the potential solar energy is collected by a solar panel, but in the future it will be possible for a panel to collect double or triple that. Once solar panels can be that much more efficient, they will be a sensible replacement for gasoline. Still, in an emergency all air-planes also would carry a fuel tank.
Currently a solar panel is not that light and the batteries to store their energy are also heavy. They will have to invent lighter panels and batteries for airplanes to use. The plane would use almost no fuel and that would lighten it but it might still be a little too heavy. So the airlines could use plastics instead of metal for the hull of the airplane.
Whether an airplane is in flight or on the ground, the solar panel would still collect and store energy whenever it would be in sun-light. By using solar panels the airlines will help the environment and save money at the same time. Air travel is looking bright in the future.
Chase Wilson
School: Hoover Middle School, San Francisco
Sponsoring teacher: Dennis Kujawa
Space Age Flight
What will be the new developments in flight in the next 100 years? 100 years is a long time - 100 years ago most people didn't even have electricity! So by 2103, flight will probably be very advanced and big advancements are likely even in the near future.
I think that by the year 2020 they will have non-piloted airplanes, allowing more cargo room at less cost. Instead they would have on and off board computers performing pilot functions. If for any reason the on board computer couldn't fly the plane correctly, the off board computer would take over and land the plane.
The plane would no longer need the use of runways. It would be able to hover and have vertical landing and takeoffs. This would reduce waiting in line for takeoffs and landings, and also make slightly shorter trips.
Inside the plane would include open areas with bench-style seating. Passengers could relax in the lounge or even dance in the piano bar. Almost like a cruise ship except computerized and it would be a much smoother ride because of the less air turbulence at higher altitudes.
Advantages in flight are growing rapidly, but new ideas and inventions will be needed. New and efficient technology will help the economy, especially travel and vacation destinations and also introduce travel to Mars and other exotic locations!
Noah Frank
School: Hoover Middle School, San Francisco
Sponsoring teacher: Dennis Kujawa
Evolution of Military Flight in the 21st Century
I believe military flight will change dramatically in the next century. Fighter jet will be passed out in favor of Stealth bombers. The targets that these planes strike will change. And to deal with these new planes and targets, we will develop new weapons and tactics.
Jet fighters will probably become obsolete this century. Since our enemies have changed from superpowers to small, rogue states and terrorist organizations who have small, poor, air forces, the need for fighters like the F-16 is doubtful.
Our new enemies hide in rugged territory and are armed with small arms, radar complexes, and surface to air missile sites. Countering them will be Stealth bombers armed with "smart" bombs that can evade radar, avoid ground fire, and hit their targets with perfect accuracy. Our planes won't be bombing troops or tanks; they will be accurately targeting terrorist leaders, camps, and other vital targets.
Because of this change in planes and targets, our armed forces will have to develop new weapons and tactics. There has been a great leap in smart weapons in the last decade, but we will probably see just smart bombs in the future. The number of planes will dwindle, but the planes themselves will improve.
The next hundred years will see a small but sophisticated fleet of combat planes. Carrying a full load of smart bombs, they will slip into enemy territory undetected, strike their targets with precision, and then slip away quietly.
Amit Arunkumar
School: Redwood Middle School
Sponsoring teacher: Joseph Christie
Flight Evolved
Flight - The motion of an object in or through a medium.
During the next one hundred years, this word will change the world. People will think about it through a whole different perspective than that of which we have today. Flight will be made an everyday routine. Instead of driving your car you'll simply hop into a fission-powered plane and cruise to your destination.
Flight will be so common that it will be a systematic part of your life. Taking a short 300-mile trip to work will take at most an hour. Planes will run on electricity completely, whether it be solar powered, fission powered or another technique. Planes, helicop-ters, and hovercrafts will be auto piloted to avoid human errors and save lives. This would allow for the overall speeds to increase dramatically, resulting in getting places faster making flight more convenient than automobiles. The overall amount of flying vehicles will increase due to the need to travel to faraway regions. Higher altitudes will be reached making travel faster and more planes able to travel a single route at the same time. All planes will be equipped with rotating engines in order to land in small spaces like a helicopter. This would let planes land in all sorts of conditions and terrain without a large runway or airstrip. Flight in the 22nd century will evolve into an enormous part of our lives.
Rebecca Johnson
School: Peterson Middle School, Sunnyvale
Sponsoring teacher: Donna Dickes
I gaze into my crystal globe and look into the future of aerospace technology. I see an empty sky full only of an occasional wisp of cloud. Suddenly, a plane rushes past disarranging the clouds at a speed that would make you blink. New ways of building motors and harnessing energy have been found and quickly put to use. The plane can go farther, faster. The distance that took people three hours to travel now takes them forty-five minutes.
The scene in the crystal ball shifts and I see out into space. The space station has grown larger and people now live there. Over-crowding on earth has promoted life in space and a small city now thrives on the station. It is a home away from home for many.
A hum comes from the crystal ball and it shows a colony on the moon. It is enclosed in a bubble-like lid that keeps the oxygen in and the moon dust out. Like the station, a miniature city is growing.
Once again the scene changes. This time it is a scene on the earth. People in suits sit around a table discussing a grave matter. Finally an agreement is made. They will send an expedition to Mars using the new materials they have invented.
Most people think that thousands of advancements will be made in the next century (look at the last one!) but I disagree. A century is only 100 years and developments take a long time.
Emily Jones
School: Redwood Middle School, Saratoga
Sponsoring teacher: Martin Belles
What will be the new developments of flight in the next 100 years?"
Space flight needs to be quick and inexpensive so mankind can search for rudimentary forms of life in the solar system and beyond. Existing rocket fuel takes up too much room, is too costly, and does not provide the necessary speed for distant travel. A more efficient type of fuel would be particle beams aimed at an earth orbiting spacecraft from a ground or space generator. The beams would hit the vehicle, propelling the mass forward. The effect would be like that of a high power water hose accelerating a small wooden block, for instance. Since the electrons in the beam would be traveling at the speed of light, the spacecraft could reach similar speeds.
Scientists have speculated that an electron particle beam could be created using Iceland's superfluous geothermal energy. This energy could be a "fuel of the future" for space flight.
Using this method of travel, satellites could be sent to far away destinations such as Europa, where the promise of life seems probable. The Galileo probe found evidence of a liquid ocean beneath Europa's ice, and the Hubble Telescope detected a thin atmosphere of oxygen on this Jovian moon. Electron particle beams would make it possible to send probe after probe quickly and cheaply as new discoveries are made.
Our nation should research this energy source and adapt its use for future space missions.