A Prediction

If mankind ever establishes a large-scale permanent colony on the Moon (as a vacation resort only, I'm certain, with frequently-rotated personnel -- since the radically weaker gravity would play havoc with the bodies of long-term residents in all kinds of unpleasant ways), I believe indoor flying will become a popular form of recreation.  I picture the arena to be a gigantic hangar-type building, vastly loftier and wider than any that could be built on Earth, and without any internal supports to obstruct flight.  The floor would be perforated with innumerable small apertures through which air under pressure would be pumped out, creating a permanent updraft;  the ceiling would be designed to receive the wind and recycle it.  The players would be taken up to a high platform, where they would be fitted with a "flight suit";  that is, a light skeletal frame shaped somewhat like a glider, in which they would lie prone, with movable wings whose shape and angle they could control with their arms and legs.  Thus prepared, they would step off the ledge, and taking advantage of the Moon's weaker gravity and aided by the updraft -- fly!  Although it would still be impossible to flap the wings like the small birds on Earth that stay close to the ground -- human anatomy just doesn't allow it -- comparison with large, soaring birds like eagles and vultures would be apt;  it would still be genuinely self-powered and controlled flight, just like those birds of prey riding a thermal column, not the hapless "controlled falling" of wingsuits.

Two Skies

This is one of my all-time favorite shots.  It's lovely, but also at the same time it's melancholy and poignant and saddening - because it's all about longing for the impossible.

Don't, shadow bird!  If you fly beyond the edge, you'll disappear.

Flying

A SAD MEMORY FROM THE PAST, AND A PREDICTION FOR THE FUTURE

I remember once, when I was little, the womenfolk of the house were sitting around doing something with fabric.  There were rolls of material and piles of scrap in all kinds of textures and colors, strewn all about the floor.  I was playing with the discarded pieces when I found a largish piece of netting or mesh.  I'm not familiar enough with fabric to know what it would be called exactly -- I suppose it was a kind of crinoline or some such.  While playing with it, marveling at its combination of lightness and stiffness, I conceived a brilliant idea.  I drew a pair of wings on the stuff and asked some one of the group to cut them out for me.  This being done, I had them pinned to my shoulders.  I climbed the stairs to the landing, made sure the wings were securely affixed to my shoulders, and took a leap.

How disappointed I was when nothing unusual happened!  While I certainly had not expected to be able to fly around like a butterfly -- I don't remember how old I was then, but I certainly knew not to expect such miracles -- I had hoped and somewhat expected that the wings would at least slow my fall a little (good thing I had not gone all the way up to the top of the stairs!).  That day probably could be counted as the sad day I recognized there is a difference between reality-as-you-think-it and reality-as-you-find-it.

Anyway, thinking about that childhood experience over the years has resulted in another brilliant idea, and a prediction based upon it:  in the future, when mankind has colonized the Moon, one of the most popular sports will be flying.  Real flying, like a bird flies.

Here is how it would work:  a giant domed space would be built;  it would be much larger than any indoor stadium existing today (easy enough in the weaker gravity of the Moon).  It would have air blowing upward from the floor at designated spots, to simulate rising thermal currents and assist with climbing.  The would-be flyer would come in, put on protective gear and step into a light framework made of carbon tubing.  The frame holds the body horizontal like a hang glider, but it would not look like a hang glider;  it is equipped with a large pair of wings, hinged at the shoulders and the arms would be strapped into them.  The joints are rigged with springs to keep the wings open by default in the optimal gliding position (to keep the arms from getting tired), but they allow the flyer to move his arms and flap the wings as necessary.  There are also pull-cords, controlled by the fingers, to change the shape of the wings for fine control, just like a real bird's wings.  The flyer climbs up to a launch pad, pushes off, and buoyed up by strong rising currents, glides up, up and away.

EDIT:  Apparently someone is looking for sponsors to launch a business doing something very much like this!  Balloon-assisted personalized indoor flying!  There's a video on YouTube -- search under 'ParaBounce'.