This December 17 will mark the occasion of an event that changed the world forever 100 years ago. It was on that date in 1903 that Orville Wright first flew the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk for 12 seconds, thereby propelling man into the age of powered flight. A mere 13 horsepower engine driving two propellers on the biplane was what it took to get airborne.

It was The Event of the 20th Century, and heralded an era of transport and air power that has gone on to reshape our lives, change cultures and bring people closer. Without that first flight, there would have been no airmail, no Hiroshima, no jet engine, and no man to set foot on the Moon. What we take as granted by stepping onto an airliner today as we would a bus, had as its genesis this simple but far-reaching first flight.

Strangely enough, there seem to be no plans afoot in Mauritius to celebrate the centenary of flight. With a few months to go, there is just about enough time to commemorate this event, and there is no dearth of ideas. At the very least, postage stamps could be issued depicting great civil aircraft like the Douglas DC-3, Lockheed Constellation, Boeing 707 and Concorde.

Will anybody celebrate the centenary of flight before it flies past?

Arjun Sarup