Kay Bailey Hutchison, December 17, 2003

On December 17, 1903, a blustering Friday morning in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers achieved the world's first powered flight. Although it lasted a mere 12 seconds and the plane traveled only 120 feet, its impact continues to reverberate one hundred years later. This month we celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of the flight, and the heroes who have shaped and led a century of aviation.

In these one hundred years, we have made extraordinary strides from that short-lived treacherous flight. At this very moment, NASA is preparing to test Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity by launching a gravity probe into space. More than 100,000 flights take off each day around the world, eliminating geographic boundaries and creating an increasingly global culture. Air travel enables me to work in Washington but live in Texas with my family and visit regularly with people throughout the state.

Aviation is a case study in the ingenuity of humankind. It has played a pivotal role in every aspect of our culture and economy, and progress we've made is astounding. Just 66 years after the Wright's famed flight, aeronautics transcended earthly bounds and Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon. On earth, our ability to rapidly and efficiently move goods and people has been key to our progress as a society. And perhaps one of the most amazing aspects is how little we dwell on it, or how much we take it for granted. What began as a perilous, incomprehensible undertaking is now safer than driving from El Paso to Nacogdoches.

Since my time as Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, I've been fascinated by aviation and helped found the Frontiers of Flight Museum, a Texas treasure dedicated to the history of flight. This unique collection is housed at Love Field in Dallas and provides a wonderful retrospective of aviation and aerospace.

The history of aviation is a legacy of men and women whose hard work and determination enabled them to achieve their dreams. As Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." America has produced many of these giants on whose shoulders we now stand. The Wright Brothers; Bessie Coleman, the first African-American aviator in the world; Charles Lindbergh, who flew solo non-stop across the Atlantic; Amelia Earhart; Chuck Yeager, who broke the sound barrier with two broken ribs; Walt Cunningham, John Glenn and many others. The breathtaking speed with which aviation has progressed in the last one hundred years has been in no small part due to the courage and determination of these people, and the inventiveness and dedication of the scientists and engineers who have designed their aircraft.

Flight has also been critical to our military success. Unmanned aerial vehicles, the latest innovation, have flown reconnaissance missions over enemy territory in Afghanistan and Iraq. They transmit images back to headquarters and can target the enemy without putting a single solder in harms way. Cargo planes transport troops, equipment and weapons to battlefields and peacekeeping missions around the world. And military fighter jets and helicopters are critical to our success.

As we move into the second century of air travel, we face new opportunities and new challenges. The attacks of 9/11 showed us the vulnerabilities of our nation's aviation system in horrific detail. Improving the security of that system has been a top priority of Congress and a particular concern of mine. As a member of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee I have been keenly aware of the problems we face and continue to work toward true and lasting solutions to our security concerns. While we have enacted meaningful reform through the new Transportation Security Administration, our job is not yet done. I continue to advocate for air cargo security legislation, to close a dangerous loophole, and will fight for upgraded security measures to keep the public safe and keep this critical part of our economy strong.

The commemoration of one hundred years of aviation provides an important opportunity for Americans to look back on our nation's history and look forward to her future. The innovation, perseverance and vision that have brought us to this important milestone will continue to fuel the imaginations and dreams of Americans and propel us into the next century.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, has represented Texas in the U.S. Senate since 1993.