Americans with Wings

張步云

【Abstract】Wright Brothers first flying machines flight in 1903 declared the advent of aviation age. Further stimulated by two world wars， aviation technologies have become the most advanced ones among humans manufacturing industries. In order to feed the industries demand for human intelligence， various interactions between aviation staff and other social members were developed. Consequently， certain kind of aviation culture has been cultivating. In this paper， the author will make an introduction of aviation culture in the United States， and focus on the most representative content of that culture， the air show institution in United States.

【Key words】Aviation Culture； Air Show； United States

Brief history of Air Show

At the infant stage， aviation was mainly the contests among pioneering inventors with their powered flying machines. There were contests on aircrafts speed， endurance and altitude. Then entrepreneurs， who may had a passion for this newly emerging technology or business， intervened. They set some air races， and a price for the winner， and the event were open for the ordinary people. That became the rudiment of air shows.

The first major air show took place in Reims， France in August 1909. Almost all of the prominent aviators then took part， and attracted nearly 500，000 spectators， including Armand Fallières， the President of the French Republic and the British Chancellor David Lloyd George. Right after that， United States， in January of 1910 organized its first air show in Los Angeles， California. By the start of World War I， air shows had become a very popular international phenomenon.

After two world wars， individual inventors， engineers can no longer deal with these advanced and sophisticate flying machines. Aviation industry became critically dependent upon states investment and policies support. Institutionalized national flying team and national air show began to appear. Americans formed up the world second national air show team， the Navy Flight Exhibition Team， but changed name into the Blue Angle in 1946. In 1953， the air force of United States create its own national air show team， the Thunderbirds Squadron. Both of the team flies over 50 missions of air show annually and enjoys world highest reputation.

Up till our days， air show has become an important method of demonstrating national air power to their own citizens and foreign states. It is also a major content of interaction between military staff and civilians. Every country with decent air force will organize air shows.

Various access to aviation in United States

Air show institution in the United States is the benchmark for all the world.

The official willingness to promote interaction between aviation staff and civilians is the core feature that differentiates United States from the rest.

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angle， enjoy world highest reputation among aviation community for their highly professional performance and for their over 50 annual demonstration missions over United States. That number of missions were ensured by the institution of Standard Airshow Season.

Americans have the longest air show season in the world， which runs from March until November. By Standard Airshow Season， air show becomes routine for national air show team. Their schedules is available on websites， therefore gives a clear expectation from authority. They also go deep into communities to improve interaction， and demonstrate the professionalism of air force， promote military career. In 2013 both teams performances ceased due to budget cuts. Greg Moseley， Thunderbirds commander then stated “We still have an obligation to educate people about our great Air Force. well continue to engage the public as best we can.”

Its necessary to justify this official willingness. Air force， and the aviation industry is vital and is always in need of intelligent resources. The community of aviation fans have great potential to feed that demand. Many of them will more inclined to devote themselves to an aviation career. Therefore， vigorous aviation culture can be equally vital for the future.

Reference significance for China

China has a large community of aviation fans， but lacks the official willingness to promote interaction. the only opportunity for most Chinese aviation fans to see air show is in Airshow China every two years， which is totally dwarfed by over 50 times each year in United States. China must import Standard Airshow Season for the long term development.

Reference：

[1]Gunston，Bill.Chronicle of Aviation.London：Chronicle Communications Ltd.，1992.Print.

[2]Herbert，F(xiàn)rank.Threshold：The Blue Angels Experience：The Text and Full Color Photos from the Motion Picture.New York：Ballantine Book，1973.Print.

[3]Hildebrandt，Erik.Front Row Center：Inside the Great American Air Show.Minneapolis，Minn.：Cleared Hot Media，2000.Print.