Before our buddies Orville and Wilbur took their famous first test flights, there were other sky machines already in the air. Henri Giffard had already taken his steam-powered airship an impressive 27 km, in the first manned and powered flight back in 1852. Clément Ader had already flown his bat-winged monoplane 50m in the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight in 1890.

So why are the Wright brothers credited with being the fathers of modern aircraft? Because none of these planes could be properly controlled whilst in the air. Inspired by the way people could control bicycles, Wilbur and Orville invented a way to control a flying machine whilst in the air. And that changed the world forever.

Every successful aircraft ever built since has had controls that can roll the wings left or right, pitch the nose up or down and yaw the nose side to side. The three key basics that give pilots control over the plane… And that’s all down to the Wright brothers.

Do you think they knew what would come in the future? Passenger aircrafts, cargo planes, fighter jets that could break the sound barrier… Without the Wright brothers, the world wouldn’t be what it is today. No jet-setting holidays, no speedy air freight deliveries… In fact that one invention, by two men so many years ago is still shaping our culture and landscape today.

New airports are being built around the world every year, with aviation changing the way we shop, live and travel! Over 200 new airports are being built in India alone – and in the UK we’ve got a new air cargo airport on the way! Manston Airport, based in Kent in the UK, is set to reopen in 2025 as an air cargo hub. Over £500m is being invested into the net-zero carbon project to develop the airport. The idea is that creating another dedicated cargo airport in the UK will help to reduce the overcrowding in the London airport system and ease road congestion caused by lorries carrying freight through the channel tunnel to European airports. I personally think that the Marston Airport is a great idea – anything to help freight run smoother!

But what a funny thought to think that all those people involved – the architects, the property planners, the site workers, everyone involved in the huge Manston project – are all there because of something someone did over 100 years ago? It’s the butterfly effect in action. Everything we do – or don’t do – has a ripple effect on the world around us both now and in the future.

Those sales calls you make – or don’t make. That email you send – or don’t send. That idea you run with – or leave on your list “for later”. Every decision you make, every action you take (or fail to take) shapes not only your world – but the world of those around you. Both now, and in the future… Imagine if the Wright brothers had left their idea of a fully controllable aircraft on their “one day maybe” to-do list? Where would the world be now…

So what have you been procrastinating, postponing or planning to do one day? Perhaps now is the time to do it…