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[url="http://www.msnbc.com/news/990865.asp?vts=120120032334"]10 designs that changed aviation[/url]

DC-3 , definately, it spurred and solidified an entire industry.

707 , yes, made jet flight look safe again after the disasters of the British Comet.

X-1, ok, but only for psychological reasons verses the "sound barrier" other rocket planes were coming.

B-17, the B-24 did everything better than the B-17 and in larger numbers but the pre-war Fortress was ready to go when the spit hit the spam so got all the headlines and movie roles lol.

P-51, YUP!! an "all day Spitfire"

Curtis Jenny, my dad actually flew one of these. They called them "the Yellow Peril" because they were painted bright yellow and the newbies had them falling from the sky with great regularity lol

ME-262, yup, a far better design than the Glouster Meteor the Brits developed at a similar time.

Cessna, close between Cessna and Piper, they both put flying into arms reach of "average" citizens.

Clippers, the clipper ships made the world avaiable to the "semi-well to do", people could now visit places they had only read about in books or seen in the "shorts" movie travelogues shown at the cinema. They mentioned the Lockheed Constellation, I dont know why, all it ever did was make every other plane on the tarmac ashamed of it's appearance lol, still the sexiest commercial aircraft ever.

SR-71, hmmm, well I dont know if the HABU changed anything except the record books. It remains an acheivement unrivaled, nothing matches it or even comes close, it's major contributions may have been in construction and materials as far as aviation is concerned.



"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us". George Orwell

Fighting For Justice With Brains Of Steel !
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<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>SR-71, hmmm, well I dont know if the HABU changed anything except the record books. It remains an acheivement unrivaled, nothing matches it or even comes close, it's major contributions may have been in construction and materials as far as aviation is concerned.

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I would agree there, the SR-71 seems to be the cornerstone for the foundation that led to stealth developement and the ability of an aircraft to have radar immunity without huge compromises to its performance, if I remeber right, the SR-71 was the first operational aircraft that incorperated limited stealth technology...



<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>B-17, the B-24 did everything better than the B-17 and in larger numbers but the pre-war Fortress was ready to go when the spit hit the spam so got all the headlines and movie roles lol.

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B-17 provided a base for improvement which lead to the B-29, of course Consolidated was working on the B-36, which was an even more impressive aircraft.

Edited by - chadrewsky on Dec 06 2003 1:59 PM

anytime you talk "firsts" in aviation your in rocky ground, I think the early U-2s had RAM blankets on the intakes. And the Army contracted for an "invisible" aircraft back in 1930 or something.

"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us". George Orwell

Fighting For Justice With Brains Of Steel !
<img src="http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/atengun2X.GIF" border=0>

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

DC3, hmmm, its been around now for a while, and is going to be around for a long time to come, with some examples dating back some 60 years, (maybe more), I dont think a Cessna 172 or Boeing 747 being around in 60 years, but I would not be surprised if I saw a DC3 flying in 2063!

Boeing 707
not so much as a revolution, but an evolution, the Americans simply took lessons learned, (albeit painfully), from the Comet, they did it to such an extent that crossing the atlantic or pacific became no more stressful than taking a taxi ride.

P51
if the british had not given North American aviation the RR Merlin engine, as used in several RAF aircraft, (halifax and lancaster bombers, mosquito, hurricane, spitfire to name a few), the P51 would have never been the aircraft it was, its original Alison engine was gutless at high altitudes, BUT, at low level, the same engine had plenty of power.

Herman Goering is believed to have said, when he saw P51's escorting bombers over Berlin, "My Furher, We have lost the war".


regarding the comment on the lockheed connie. The Connie, like so many radial engined aircraft had a soul, there is no sound more addictive than that of a large capacity radial engine. (even as a brit, I have to say the sound of the P47 is much more enticing than the sound from the spitfire!)


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ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

bah the Corsair had the mustang beat hands down.

Overkill??? I'd kill a fly with a howitzer if I had one.

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Rafale you mentioned the 707 as being the revolution and you are right. It should be remembered though that as far as design goes, it was not the 707 that became the basic shape of all airliners, but that from the B47 Stratojet. All Boeing airframes grew from its basic cigar with swept wing design.

By this time tomorrow I shall have gained either a pearage or Westminster Abbey........Nelson

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YGBSM !

NOT an historian but IIRC the Mustang was a BRITISH order not American.

"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us". George Orwell

Fighting For Justice With Brains Of Steel !
<img src="http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/atengun2X.GIF" border=0>

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.