June 2003 Mechanical Engineering: Editorial

editorial

Engines of Change

By
John G. Falcioni, Editor-in-Chief

At some point in our lives, most of us have owned a Ford. In my case, I opted for a Taurus. A Taurus station wagon with a jump seat, a modern version of what used to be known in the old days as a rumble seat—the definition of which is left to the imagination. Certainly, my wagon wasn't as sexy or as muscular as a Mustang, but it was serviceable, reliable, and heck, it was a Ford.

Owning a Ford always meant something special. To some it still does. Whatever that something special is, it has to do with Henry Ford and his company, which this year turns 100. Contributor Frank Wicks, in last month's issue, provided an insightful and interesting account of the great influence Ford has had worldwide, and of the legacy he left behind.

It turns out that 1903 was a watershed year of technical growth and social change stemming from independent developments combining with those from Ford's company.

The time was ripe. During the early 1900s, the majority of people in the United States lived in rural areas, but they were moving into cities and leaving their farm jobs for factories, which offered better wages and an opportunity for the excitement of city life.

The period also marked a time when vast numbers of immigrants entered the United States and joined the workforce. Many of them went to work at the new factories, which were emerging and spreading throughout the country.

Until the time of Ford's 1908 Model T, city dwellers and those who worked in cities but lived elsewhere relied mostly on horses and foot power to get around where the trains didn't run. Delivery of goods also relied on horse-drawn wagons. Legend has it that about 2.5 million pounds of horse manure were deposited on New York City streets every day.

Ford's automobiles helped change the social fabric of the United States and then that of the rest of the world.

During the same year, not too far from Dearborn, in Milwaukee, neighbors Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson, who worked together at a metal fabrication plant, modified a bicycle with an engine and used a leather strap to make the wheels turn. The experiment resulted in the founding of the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. and ignited one of America's most recognizable cultural icons, right up there with Coca-Cola—the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Next month's issue of Mechanical Engineering will contain a feature article detailing the Harley-Davidson story.

Most noteworthy of all that year was the flight of Wilbur and Orville Wright. On Dec. 17, 1903, they launched their flyer amidst 27-mile-per-hour winds in Kitty Hawk, N.C., and flew for 12 seconds, with Orville at the helm, marking the first manned powered flight.

The Wright Brothers guarded their technology like a national secret until World War I, when the United States deemed that because of the war the flight technology had to be licensed. This spurred the growth of airplanes, along with the expansion of domestic and international economies.

With the December issue, you will receive a commemorative edition of Mechanical Engineering magazine celebrating 100 Years of Flight. We will look at the past, and also at the future of aviation. Please visit www.asme. org for information on a special program, Celebration of Flight, to be held November 16, during ASME's International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Washington, D.C.