Mechanical work of art
August 4th, 2024
I was riding my bicycle right by my local airport today (hopefully soon to become a regional airport…) and heard a specifically loud engine noise. I looked up to see this stunning piece of mechanical work of art just landing there. A Pilatus PC-12 is an unusual visitor at my airport, so I stopped for a while and watched it taxi to the apron. I didn't take any photos since this airport is mostly used now by the military and border patrol aircraft. A few military helicopters were starting up their engines and the military personnel were mingling on the apron there, so I thought better than try to capture the scene. Still, it was such a pleasure to see something mechanical, that, in its own way, is a pinnacle of engineering, but is also beautiful to look at. Technology and engineering don't have to be utilitarian or boring as this example shows. That got me thinking about how boring-looking modern technology really is — there is so little to distinguish airliners from Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer now. Even twenty years ago, each manufacturer had its own particular look and was proudly using it in its designs. Now everything just seems bland. There is nothing in the sky like a Boeing 757 that, in my opinion, is still the best-looking aircraft ever made:
Strangely, that doesn't apply to cars. For me, the cars I see are only tools used to get from point A to point B and their appearance is absolutely of no interest to me. As are their technical specs — except for the fuel consumption. But aircraft are a different matter — there was a time twenty-thirty years ago when I would travel to the airports just to engage in some plane spotting. That was fun then — with all the different types and designs of aircraft and all the different airlines and their liveries. Now all the designs are streamlined to be efficient in the same way and to look the same. And with airline mergers and bankruptcies and monopolies in particular airports, there are only a few standout liveries to be seen. A shame and a boring one at the same time.
