Wings Assignment #5- Taylor McKinley

      1. Summarize the new aviation technologies that emerged as a result of WWII.

      Some of the new technologies that were produced because of World War II included nuclear weapons, jet aircraft, guided missiles, long-range rockets, and many other electronic systems.  Research during this time period was responsible for producing these achievements in science and industry to create these weapons that no one saw coming the decade before.  Since the Great Depression, efforts to create a national research fun to support academic science had failed, so most American scientists pursued their own work with small grants from their respective universities.  Later, during the course of the war, two-hundred universities won a quarter of a billion dollars in grants, with the majority of the funds going to prestigious research institutions.  As a result, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Chicago became key parts of the Manhattan Project, another example of the technology that emerged during World War II.  With this research, the new aviation technologies came about, changing the world of aviation yet again forever.

2. Discuss the beginning of supersonic flight research in the United States and whether or not this technology was a priority.

Although it is hard to believe, airplanes in the early 1900s could only reach a maximum speed of about 125 mph.  However, the tips of their propellers were reaching speeds of about 650 mph. This led to more research which revealed that a sudden increases in drag and a loss of lift occurred at speeds around 450 mph.  This led to the realization that it was time for a “paradigm shift,” that pushing the limits of existing technology was not enough.  It was time to come up with something completely new.  However, the United States did not fully support this shift, realizing that since all of their industries were built around the piston engine, they would have to completely remodel everything that had to do with production of airplane engines.  The rocket and turbo jet engine would eventually be pursued and created by a few innovative individuals.  Many companies continued to discourage the manufacturing of new engines but countries like Britain pursued this opportunity and this finally persuaded the U.S. to start building engines that go as fast as we know today.

3. What role did the helicopter play in the development of aviation technology?

The idea of a helicopter as “the personal transport of tomorrow” was a very appealing thought.  An industry pioneer of the time, Grover Loening, was pretty skeptical, however, stating that if anyone thought that everyone was going to fly helicopters right after the war, it was nonsense.  However, the invention of the helicopter prevailed, and it offered many new things that airplanes did not in that day and age.  For example, as the book states, a machine that could rise straight up into the air and hover over one spot was functional.  These new features alone gave the helicopters an advantage because of their unique motion and their difference from the airplane.  The helicopter became a huge proponent of the Vietnam War, as “mobility became the key to success, and the helicopter was the key to mobility.”  This was “war without front lines”—it was necessary to have a machine that could maneuver like the helicopter to get an advantage in the war.  After this, the helicopter became a permanent entity in the world of flight, and continues today to be a very important facet of aviation technology.