Forum: Technology

In the last 60 years of aviation, what do you guys think is THE single most important innovation?

The afterburner?
The ejection seat?
Stealth?
PGM`s?
Fire and forget weapons?
The 747?
Inflight movies!!! Smile

Would love to hear your opinions guys, thanks!

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Wouldn't it be the first jet-engined aircraft the ME-262? Although very formidable, but utilized incorrectly, it could have been the turning point in WWII.

Perhaps after the WWII, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in the Bell X-1.

The Rocket...

Kinda a cousin to aviation but pioneered near the end and a little bit after WWII. What im trying to get into is that while the Wright Brothers opened up the sky the Rocket opened up Space... With the air plane we had control of ever facet of our domain (earth) however, now that man has expanded its domain to space we are once again pushed into a daring age of exploration and discovery.

-Aaron

Right-on Aaron, didn't remember that, however, one must walk before they can run.

The Me 262 and the liquid fuelled rocket, certainly huge advances.Certainly, Germany`s work with the V2 directly led to the US space and ICBM programmes through Von Braun.

Pilots who flew the 262 said it handled superbly but its weakness was its engines which they said were sluggish and unresponsive at low altitudes. P-51`s simply had to "hang" around 262 airfields and pick them off during landings. The 262 pilots couldn`t throttle up their engines quickly enough to stay airborne and get "up" to speed to make the fight even. They were sitting ducks.Once they were committed to land, they HAD to land.

Read a story about a proposed US jet designated the L113 , a lockheed jet called the Starjet. Its engine designer Nathan Price was years ahead of his time. He proposed the use of an "afterburner" when no-one else in the world had even talked about the concept. It would have been THE first high subsonic or even supersonic aircraft. What makes it all the more astonishing was that it was proposed in 1941!!!!!!

The defense department canned the project. They said the aircraft already in service could do the job sufficiently. Guess they were right. Now that would have been one hell of an innovation!! I believe it was the subject of a TV doc`.

Pretty flight attendants.

Aviation in General? That would be without a doubt the jet engine (OK, so that is more like 64 years).

Without even going into the military advantages, the speed of jet aircraft brought the entire globe into a reasonable traveling distance. Result is a global economy. Also makes timely humanitarian responses possible.

Now, if you really meant 60 years so that the jet engine is to be excluded...I would have to say the development of the transistor. Lead to capabilities in avionics (flight controls, GPS navigation, fire and forget weapons, data links...). I know, not directly aviation related but...

Landing gear.

I suppose the transistor , looking at it like that, could be called "the mother" of much new technology and capability in aerospace. Ok, 60 years was just a little too stringent!!! I believe there have been 4 major revolutions in or affecting aviation in the past 60 ( odd!) years.

1.The jet engine of course.
2.Supersonic speeds.
3.Microelectronics, with integration of the transistor.
4.Stealth.

These are all revolutionary innovations. They have each made adversaries go back to the "drawing board" to find ways of countering or matching them at great economic cost.

For example, Russia invested huge sums in the Mig-25 to counter a mach 3 bomber, Xb70. The Xb` was scrapped but the russians were stuck with the Mig-25 whose engines had to be scrapped every time it pushed mach 3!

I too would have to say computing power, for all the systems given to us mentioned by Roscoe.

Landing gear has been around since the Wright flyer, so it doesn`t really count!!!!!!! Albeit essential!

Thanks for the response guys Very Happy

Was Aviation the advent of the transistor, or, was the transistor already around prior to the last 60 years of Aviation? We had LF radios before that.

snypa777 wrote:

Landing gear has been around since the Wright flyer, so it doesn`t really count!!!!!!! Albeit essential!

I should have used an emoticon - it was supposed to be a joke....

My response was also a joke Falconfixer!!!!! Brit humour, nobody gets it!!!!

Allenperos, the transisitor was invented in a Bell lab` in 1947.
Didn`t radios use "ye old thermonic valves" before that?

Last edited by Yellow13 on Aug 03, 2005 - 02:09 AM; edited 1 time in total

Here's my Top Ten:

1 Super sonic flight 'nuff said

2 The commercial use of the jet has unquestionably changed the world forever

3 SpaceShipOne- may change the world again as much as my #2

4 Microelectronics

5 Stealh

6 Computer Simulators

7 I'm supirsed none of you dudes have said this yet: USAF. It was the Army Air Corps until after WWII. I don't think there would be the same emphasis on the progress and advancement of avaition in today's Armed Forces without the Air Force as we know it now.

8 Modern HUDs

9 Guided Weapons (Now I know that there was testing of guided weapons during WWII, but they weren't really used until Vietman)

10 Me: Future Ace-of-Aces fighter pilot Cool

And yeah, some of us "Yanks" understand and like Brit "homour": I love "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "Shaun of the Dead" LMAO

Anyhow, that's my Two Cents

always good to hear from someone from across the pond... take care of yourself overthere snypa Cheers

Be careful with #10, other Candidates and Superiors will not take to kindly to that attitude.....seriously.

Yellow13,

#10 - Sh!t Hot answer! Cheers

You can teach anyone the mechanics and principals, but if that jock doesn't already come to the table with self confidence and aggression, he ain’t gonna be worth a hoot in hell driving fighters. You can’t teach that stuff Hoss!

Stay polite, courteous, and respectful when dealing with your squadron… But when in a fight, have your FANGS OUT! To quote a famous song, “My name is Sammy Small, Foxtrot ‘em all”. Devil

So great non-PC #10! LMAO

Forum: Technology

What is THE single biggest innovation in aviation since WW2