Aero industry draft2013

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Aerospace Industry – America’s Future? Shawn Paul Boike Copyright 2011-2012 1
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY - AMERICA’S FUTURE?
THE FLYING MACHINE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
© 2011 Shawn Paul Boike, Long Beach, California
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means without written permission from the author.

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If you want someone to be able to copy or distribute portions of the book, place exceptions
here (AIAA, AIA, Boeing)
Table of Contents
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY - AMERICA’S FUTURE? 1
THE FLYING MACHINE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD 1
Table of Contents 2
List of Illustrations 7
Introduction 10
The Flying Machine that Changed the World 10
Chapter 1 13
The Beginning & Buildups 13
THE US AEROSPACE INDUSTRY – The Early Days 17
THE ACORN DAYS 19
From a speech given by Mr. Denham S. Scott to the AIA on March 19, 1968 19
from: http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/acorndays.htm Reprinted from NAAR (North American
Aviation Retirees Bulletin) - Summer 2001 26
The Growing Days 1930-1990 26
An International Industry 33
A Post-Cold War World 35
Chapter 1B 38
HELICOPTERS 38
"The Helicopter is the most versatile way of getting in and out anywhere in the world” 38
HISTORY OF HELICOPTERS 38
The Chinese 38
Leonardo Da Vinci 39
Fifteenth through the Twentieth Centuries 39
Early Twentieth Century 40
World War I Advancements 40
Autogyros are invented 41
Sikorsky's Advancements 42
1950 Advancements 42
The Turbine Engine's Impact 43
1960s & 1970s: The Vietnam War and how the helicopter changed 43

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1980s and the Helicopter 44
Early 1990s and the Helicopter 45
Conclusion of Helicopter Evolution 45
Chapter 1C 47
ROCKET SHIPS 47
"The Rocket ship is the way to get into Space because it carries its complete propellant” 47
HISTORY OF ROCKET SHIPS 47
Rocketry Becomes a Science 52
Modern Rocketry Begins 53
Chapter 2 59
Changing Times 59
America's defense companies are turning dual-purpose 59
Jul 18th 2002 | from the print edition 59
Downsizing: Merger & Acquisitions 60
A survey of the defense industry: Getting it together? 60
Two-way traffic 65
The Total Quality Management Farce 68
When Government Gave US Away 70
Sidebar: A License to Steal Jobs 71
Pres. Clinton’s Transferring Technology to China 72
Sanctions and Technology Transfer Policy 72
Change Maybe Coming-but not soon Enough 75
Chapter 3 77
Where We Are Today… 77
We're falling behind. 77
By Norm Augustine (Ret. Chairman & CEO Lockheed Martin) 77
America’s Lost Leadership 82
Lockheed Martin 83
General Dynamics-old 87
McDonnell Douglas-now Boeing 90
Boeing Aircraft 91

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Northrop Grumman 92
Chapter 4 94
The Economic Importance 94
Economic Importance 94
World Economy vs. USA 94
Industry Economic Histories 96
America’s Aerospace Economic Case 97
TRADABLE EMPLOYMENT 98
Economic Value – A Comparative Model 104
Aerospace & Defense: Least Understood Industrial Sector 106
By guest author Robert H. Trice 106
Lost: America's Industrial Base 108
Fading Space Industrial Base 112
America’s Lead World Space Program 114
Chapter 5 124
The Future Forecasts 124
The World’s Growing Competition 124
U.S. faces foreign competition — in space 125
By Peter N. Spotts, The Christian Science Monitor 11/7/2005 6:28 PM125
Where All the Money Is: 129
Boeing’s Future Forecast 131
Boeing expects an increasing trend to continue over the next 20 years, with world passenger
traffic growing 5 percent annually. Air cargo traffic has been moderating after a high period in
2010. Air cargo contracted by 2.4 percent in 2011. Expansion of emerging-market economies
will, however, foster a growing need for fast, efficient transport of goods. We estimate that air
cargo will grow 5.2 percent annually through 2031. 131
The shape of the market 131
We forecast a long-term demand for 34,000 new airplanes, valued at $4.5 trillion. These new airplanes
will replace older, less efficient airplanes, benefiting airlines and passengers and stimulating growth in
emerging markets and innovation in airline business models. Approximately 23,240 airplanes (68 percent
of new deliveries) will be single-aisle airplanes, reflecting growth in emerging markets, such as China,
and the continued expansion of low-cost carriers throughout the world. The twin-aisle segment will also
increase, from a 19 percent share of today's fleet to a 23 percent share in 2031. The 7,950 new twin-aisle
airplanes will allow airlines to continue expansion into more international markets. 131
The US Commercial Aerospace Industry and Defense 2012-2031 131
http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/cmo/ 131
Airbus Future Forecast 132
Asia’s Future Forecast 132

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Forecast Considerations: 132
Chapter 6 133
Our Future Focus and Plans 133
Where’s our Flying Car? 135
The Super Sonic Cruiser 136
Hypersonic - The Orient Express 138
Space Tourism 140
Space Based Solar Power-Energy 140
Tomorrows new Bomber 145
Educating Tomorrow’s People 147
10 Incredible Airplane Designs of the Future 147
In the middle of this century, telecommunications will be so 159
Boeing’s 797 Concept 160
Conclusion 161
References & Contributors: 166
Chapter 1: Beginnings & Buildups 166
Higham, Charles. Howard Hughes: the Secret Life. New York: Putnam's, 1993 170
On-Line References: 175
“Early Martin Planes.” http://www.martinstateairport.com/ 176
“F-22 Raptor.” http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/f22.html 176
“McDonnell Douglas History.” http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/f22.html 177
“Northrop YB-49.” U.S. Air Force Museum. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/ 178
“The Nurflugel Page.” http://www.nurflugel.com/Nurflugel/nurflugel.html 178
“Project Bumblebee.” http://www.xsouth.freeserve.co.uk/project_bumblebee.htm 178
Industries Economic History: 180
Bibliography 180
The History of the Aerospace Industry 182
Posted Mon, 2010-02-01 18:21 by Anonymous 182
The First Half-Century 182
The Cold War 186

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Notes to Add: 190
 The King is Rising Again…Part-1 of 3 191
 It all starts with a view into outer space… 191

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List of Illustrations
Figure 1. Spirit of Exploration.................................................................................................9
Figure 2. George Cayley & described a modern airplane........................................................ 14
Figure 3. Bernoulli’s Principle for Wing Airflow................................................................... 16
Figure 4. Courtesy of "History of Helicopters ". ....................................................................39
Figure 5. Built for US Army Air Force by Georgrij Bothezat (USSR). Courtesy of "History of
Helicopters". ......................................................................................................................... 41
Figure 6. Modern Autogyro courtesy of "History of Helicopters". .......................................... 41
Figure 7. One of Sikorsky's earlier models. Courtesy of "History of Helicopters"....................42
Figure 8. Hiller's flying platform courtesy of "History of Helicopters". ..................................42
Figure 9. Mc Donnell's helicopter courtesy of History of Helicopters. ....................................43
Figure 10. Bell 209 Cobra "Snake" courtesy of "History of Helicopters". ...............................44
Figure 11. Bell/Boeing 609 courtesy of "History of Helicopters". ...........................................44
Figure 12. Revolution Helicopter Corp. Mini 500 courtesy of "History of Helicopters". ..........45
Figure 13. Hero Engine.........................................................................................................49
Figure 14. Chinese Fire Arrow..............................................................................................49
Figure 15. Chinese Fire Arrow Launch..................................................................................50
Figure 16. Surface Running Torpedo.....................................................................................50
Figure 17. Wan-Hu Flying Chair............................................................................................51
Figure 18. Tsiolkovsky Rockets............................................................................................ 53
Figure 19. Goddard’s 1926 Rocket........................................................................................ 55
Figure 20. German V2 Rocket.............................................................................................. 57
Figure 21. Aerospace & Defense Sales..................................................................................60
Figure 22. Defense Industry Consolidation 1993-2007 ..........................................................63
Figure 23. Aerospace & Defance Stock Trends .....................................................................64
Figure 24. A View of Earth from the Shuttle.........................................................................70
Figure 25. Norm Augustine .................................................................................................. 77
Figure 26. F22 (Fwd) & F15 (Aft) ........................................................................................84
Figure 27. F35 JSF in Vertical Flight and Forward Flight ......................................................86
Figure 28. A12 Avenger Concept .........................................................................................88

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Figure 29. A12 Avenger Concept .........................................................................................88
Figure 30. Atlas2AS ............................................................................................................90
Figure 31. F18 E/F Carrier Landing.......................................................................................93
Figure 32. World GDP (past 50 years) ..................................................................................95
Figure 33. USA GDP vs. the rest of the World (50 years) ......................................................96
Figure 34. Tradable Industry Jobs, 1990–2008 (Majors)9 ......................................................99
Figure 35. Cost Comparison ................................................................................................101
Figure 36. Tradable Industry Jobs 1990-2008...................................................................... 102
Figure 37. Aerospace and other Transport Industries (Tradable)...........................................104
Figure 38. ISS ....................................................................................................................115
Figure 39. Hubble Space Telescope ................................................................................. 120
Figure 40. Mars Rover.......................................................................................................121
Figure 41. Over Cost F35 Comparison ............................................................................... 130
Figure 42. SVC’s Vertical Take-off & Landing Aerocraft.................................................... 136
Figure 43. Boeing Sonic Cruise vs. Better............................................................................137
Figure 44. Boeing Sonic Cruiser......................................................................................... 138
Figure 45. Hypersonic Aircraft ........................................................................................... 139
Figure 46. SBSP Concepts...................................................................................................141
Figure 47. Next Generation Bomber.................................................................................... 146
Figure 48. 10) Icon-II Supersonic flight .............................................................................. 148
Figure 49. 9) Green Supersonic Machine ............................................................................ 149
Figure 50. 8) Blended Wing ............................................................................................... 150
Figure 51. 7) X-45A UCAV.................................................................................................151
Figure 52. 6) Solar Eagle.................................................................................................... 152
Figure 53. 5) SUGAR......................................................................................................... 153
Figure 54. 4) Lockheed Martin ........................................................................................... 154
Figure 55. 3) Bigger is Better...............................................................................................155
Figure 56. Northrop Grumman ........................................................................................... 156
Figure 57. The Puffin ..........................................................................................................157
Figure 58. Airbus Solar Aircraft ......................................................................................... 159

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Epigraph Page
“Global leadership is not a birthright. Despite what many Americans believe, our nation does
not possess an innate knack for greatness. Greatness must be worked for and won by each new
generation. Right now that is not happening. But we still have time. If we place the emphasis we
should on education, research and innovation we can lead the world in the decades to come. But
the only way to ensure we remain great tomorrow is to increase our investment in science and
engineering today”.
Norm Augustine (retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin)
Figure 1. Spirit of Exploration
“The spirit of exploration is truly part of what it is to be human. Human history has been a
continual struggle from darkness toward light, a search for knowledge and deeper
understanding, a search for truth. Ever since our distant ancestors ventured forth into the world,
there has been an insatiable curiosity to see what lies beyond the next hill, what lies beyond the
horizon. That is the fire of the human spirit that we all carry”.
Steve Robinson (STS-114 Mission Specialist)

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“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who looked enviously on
the birds soaring freely through space on the infinite highway of the air”
Wilbur Wright
Introduction
The Flying Machine that Changed the World
It’s been over a 110 years since powered controlled flight was proven by the Wright
Brothers from Dayton Ohio, in Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. We had conquered space flight
and put a man on the moon and delivered him home safely over half a century ago. We have
commercial aircraft able to travel halfway around the world without refueling. The most
significant industry change of the last two decade’s is in some materials and
Northrop’s flying wing as the Stealth B2 bomber design. America maybe close to losing its
leadership and become second place in the World for producing Aircraft in the near future.
This loss in standing in the Aerospace Industry is, unfortunately too similar to the Automotive
Industry. It’s a shame to see the nation's largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) export base
diminishing and losing its edge.
This book “Aerospace Industry America’s Loss?” is an in depth look at the Aerospace
Industry, a compilation of facts, figures, events, and some personal accounts in the biggest
economic base & technologically influential industry in the world. The economic advantage this
industry brings Nation’s and their work force a better Standard of Living and higher wages.

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Those who lead in this key industry will lead in GDP. This tradable industry which can be
exportable is currently valued at $7 ½ Trillion in 20 years or $4 Trillion in commercial aircraft
only. The nations that have grown the most have pursued this from engineering and building
automobiles then aerospace and selling them outside of their nation, this creates a higher
standard of living. You will see the evolution and buildup of the Aerospace Industry to the
fall/demise of America’s Aerospace Industry the largest U.S. GDP creation and the economic
impact on this exportable product of trade. We conclude with valuable Future Focus with
realistic programs and plans that will generate huge growth and prosperity into the next decades
or century to lead the World both in aviation & space markets along with finding a future energy
solution.
We have recently seen the retirement of the U.S. Space Shuttles after its final mission to the
International Space Station. Now, the U.S. is regressing in technology 50+ years and use rockets
with a capsule. Russian expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV) at a higher price than our Space
Shuttle, just to get the U.S. back to the International Space Station. So we should ask: Where is
the Space Shuttles replacement? Or, what about the C-17 replacement? And the (super) Sonic
Cruiser? What happened to the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) Hypersonic aircraft (mach25)
also known as the Orient Express LA to Tokyo in 2 hours?
Why is it we are still flying slowly commercially? Where is our flying car? What about that
jet pack which looks kind-of unsafe, especially to those grown-ups that ride a bicycle with a
helmet? We technically have overcome the sonic boom with a sonic burp by intelligent design.
So, why does our own NASA have plans only go Mach 5 (like SR-71 5o years ago) as a
prototype out to 2020 because, that’s all we’ve allowed ourselves to progress in the last 20 plus
years? Boeing had great plans to build the Sonic Cruiser until they changed course and put all

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their eggs in the basket to produce the 787 (even slipping delivery date-seven times) almost
twenty five years after they helped build the composite wings of the B2 Bomber. Much of this
may have to do with Economics from the foreign suppliers investing to become a partner in
manufacturing prior to its market existence. With an optimistic belief the next generation can
learn from past mistakes and understand the future doesn’t have to be like the past and
demanding to make the Future better - similar to our Race to Space and the moon. In this
pursuit one’s destiny is limitless.
Shawn Paul Boike

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Chapter 1
The Beginning & Buildups
“It is my belief that flight is possible and, while I am taking up investigation for pleasure rather
than profit, I think there is a slight possibility of achieving fame and fortune from it.”
Wilbur Wright Sept. 3, 1900
What do you think about the beginning of the Aircraft & Aerospace Industry, most people think
about the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina? This is where Orville Wright made
the first flight for 12 seconds and 120 feet at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, NC at 10:35 a.m.
on December 17, 1903. In fact over 1000 BC the Chinese had sent men aloft tethered to kites to
provide surveillance at war time.
I was at an American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) meeting in early 1992
Seattle Washington to Listen to Phil Condit VP of the 777 my new Bosses Boss and accidently
or fortunately sat at a table with him his wife & Alan Mulally. His speech was terrific it was all
about the evolution of flight and even before Wright Brothers. His speech was very similar to
what was written in a book on the Centennial celebration of the Wright Brothers which I heard
the Author speak at the Dearborn Library in Michigan almost a decade after Phil’s speech.
The history of Aircraft (excluding balloons & rockets) starts with of course Leonardo Divinci’s
sketches and flight studies and plans for a glider, this inspired Heserfin Ahmed Salevy to build a
glider to glide down from a 183 foot tower in Istanbul in 1638. English baronet named Sir

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George Cayley whose contribution was the 1799 definition of an airplane as a machine with
fixed wings, a fuselage and a tail which has separate systems to provide lift, propulsion and
control. Cayley had successfully built and flew his successful model glider in 1804.
Figure 2. George Cayley & described a modern airplane
He later made two other gliders with a pilot which made brief glides for his efforts he was often
referred to as the “Father of Aerial Navigation”.
A French electrical engineer named Clement Ader which attempted to fly a light weight steam
powered - bat like craft called the Eole’s. His added value in flight evolution was the need for
propulsion. Ader made a piloted “uncontrolled hop of 165 feet and altitude of only eight inches
with the airplane”. “The Eole was devoid of all the other elements necessary for a practical
flying machine and contributed little to the eventual achievement of human mechanical flight”.

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Another contributor to human controlled flight prior to the Wrights was an American living in
England Sir Hiram Maxim famous for the invention of the machine gun. Following in a similar
path to Ader and noted in 1892 “Without doubt the motor is the chief thing to be considered”.
“Scientists have long said, give us a motor and we will very soon give you a successful flying
machine”. Maxim built a four ton biplane fitted to a test track & guardrails where in July 31,
1894 his rough aircraft travelled 600 feet at 42 miles per hour and rose over the guard rails and
crashed. His contribution much like Ader was that a powerful light weight engine for propulsion
could lift an aircraft.
The most noted contributor prior to the Wright brothers was a German engineer named Otto
Lilienthal with his experimentation with gliders. He began aeronautical research from the 1860’s
to 1896 and produced the most complete, accurate body of Aerodynamics that showed beyond
doubt that a curved wing profile produced optimum lift. Thus incorporating Bernoulli's principle
works on the idea that as a wing passes through the air, its shape make the air travel more over
the top of the wing than beneath it-thus creating lift. This creates a higher pressure are beneath
the wing than above it. The pressure difference cause the wing to push upwards and lift is
created.
Bernoulli's principle works on the idea that as a wing passes through the air the shape make the
air travel more over the top of the wing than beneath it. This creates a higher pressure are
beneath the wing than above it. The pressure difference cause the wing to push upwards and lift
is created.

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Figure 3. Bernoulli’s Principle for Wing Airflow
Otto Lilienthal had produced 16 different glider designs from 1891-1896 with calculated wing
area and controlled them by shifting his body weight right to left (starboard to port) thus altering
his center of gravity. Also moving his body and fore and aft to maintain equilibrium.
Lilienthal’s fame came after he had made the Boston news as “Here was a flying machine, not
constructed by a crank…but by an engineer of ability…A machine not made to look at, but to fly
with. His experiments came to an end in August 9th
1896 where while soaring, a gust of wind
put the glider nose up and into wasteland crashed down 50 feet breaking his spine where he died
the next day in a Berlin hospital.
The Wright Brothers first performed a literature search to find out the state of
aeronautical knowledge at their time. They wrote to the Smithsonian and obtained technical
papers regarding aerodynamics. They read about the works of Cayley, and Langley, and the
hang-gliding flights of Otto Lilienthal.
They corresponded with Octave Chanute (a French-born American railway
engineer and aviation pioneer) concerning some of their ideas. They
studied the problems which had been encountered by previous flyers and they talked about
possible solutions to the problems. They looked for answers to the problems of flight by

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observing large gliding birds. They decided that control of the flying aircraft would be the most
crucial and hardest problem to solve and they had some ideas for solving that problem.
The Wright Brothers were kite enthusiasts and they used the kite flights in the same way that
modern engineers use wind tunnels and flight testing to try out their ideas concerning flight
control. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was chosen for their early flight experiments because its
consistent high winds off the ocean are perfect for kite flying. The brothers correctly reasoned
that a free flying object had to be controlled about all three primary axes; roll, pitch, and yaw.
Their aircraft were built with movable surfaces on the wing, elevator, and rudder. Control of the
surface shape was in the hands of the pilot. They extensively tested these ideas by glider flights
of the aircraft. (NASA http://wright.nasa.gov/overview.htm)
The Wright Brothers took all they could learn from those before them and added their
inventiveness to create the fully controllable manned machine powered flight. This included
inventing and designing the propeller system for propulsion, a wind tunnel and many plans and
techniques we take for granted today. That time in history was a battle for first powered manned
controlled flight was in competition with Samuel Pierpont Langley and Glenn Curtiss. We all
know the winners were those Dayton men in 1903 where the US Air Force base and museum
now stands.
THE US AEROSPACE INDUSTRY – The Early Days
“Curtiss Aeroplane Company turned out such good planes that the Wright designs could not
compete”
Before there was an aviation industry, there were inventors who built their own airplanes. Wilbur
and Orville Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, made the first successful flights in 1903 and had a well-

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controlled aircraft two years later. They set up the Wright Company in 1909, which started by
building airplanes but soon lost out in a bitter rivalry with another plane builder, Glenn Curtiss of
Hammondsport, New York.
The Wrights claimed that Curtiss was stealing their inventions and sued in federal court. But
Curtiss had shrewd lawyers who kept the suits from causing damage, and went on building
airplanes. His own firm of Curtiss Aeroplane Company turned out such good planes that the
Wright designs could not compete. The company eventually changed its name to Wright
Aeronautical Company and turned to building aircraft engines.
The Wright and Curtiss companies both were in business before the outbreak of World War I, in
1914. A California plane builder, Glenn L. Martin, established a firm called, logically, the Glenn
L. Martin Company. These outfits all did plenty of business during that war. But after it ended,
in 1918, they faced the question of what to do next.
Most of the numerous planes built in the United States during the war were of British design.
Following that conflict, there was little demand for new aircraft, for there was plenty of war
surplus planes and engines. Still, there were opportunities. Curtiss had built the wartime JN-4
trainer, the famous Jenny. It still was beloved by pilots during the 1920s. A flight school might
charge $500 for lessons, and then throw in a Jenny as a graduation present. Martin built some of
the earliest bombers--one sank a captured German battleship in a 1921 exercise. This made it
clear that bombers had a future.
Other plane builders also went into business: Donald Douglas, William Boeing, and Alan
Loughead, who pronounced his name "Lockheed." To avoid mispronunciations such as Loghead
or Loafhead, his company used that spelling as well. All three found good prospects. Donald
Douglas got started by working with a wealthy enthusiast who wanted a plane that could cross

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the country nonstop. By building it, Douglas gained experience that allowed him to develop a
long-range Army plane, the World Cruiser. Two World Cruisers flew around the world in 1924
in a succession of short hops.
Airmail held promise for it earned federal subsidies for mail carriers that made it easy to turn a
profit. A few brave travelers also began buying airplane tickets. Boeing gained an important
success in 1926 with a single-engine plane that was well suited for carrying mail and passengers
over the Rocky Mountains. Lockheed won its own advantage during that same year. The
company's engineers included the talented Jack Northrop, who later founded his own plane-
building firm. He crafted the Vega, which set speed and altitude records and became popular as
an airliner.
THE ACORN DAYS
From a speech given by Mr. Denham S. Scott to the AIA on March 19, 1968
“This technological explosion had some very humble and human beginnings. The Acorns took
root in some strange places: a church, a cannery, a barbershop, but from them mighty Oaks
have indeed come to fruition”.
How many of you know that in 1910 the mighty Martin Marietta Company got its start in an
abandoned church in Santa Ana, CA? That's where the late Glenn L. Martin with his mother
Minta Martin and a mechanic named Roy Beal, built a fragile contraption with which Glenn
taught himself to fly.
It has often been told how the Douglas Company started operations in 1920 by renting the rear of

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a barbershop on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. The barbershop is still there. The Lockheed
Company built its first Vega in 1927 in what are now the Victory Cleaners and Dryers at 1040
Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood. Claude Ryan, who at 24 held a reserve commission as a flyer,
had his hair cut in San Diego one day in 1922. The barber told him how the town aviator was in
jail for smuggling Chinese across the border. Claude investigated and stayed on in San Diego to
rent the old airfield from the city at fifty dollars a month and replace the guy in the pokey. He
agreed to fly North instead of South.
In 1928, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Transcontinental Air Transport (now TWA)
and the Douglas Company chipped in enough money to start North American Aviation, a
holding company. The present company bearing the Northrop name came into being in a small
hotel in Hawthorne. The hotel was conveniently vacant and available because the police had
raided it and found that steady residents were a passel of money-minded gals who entertained
transitory male guests.
After Glenn Martin built his airplane in the church, he moved to a vacant apricot cannery in
Santa Ana and built two more. In 1912 he moved to 9th and Los Angeles Streets in downtown
Los Angeles. Glenn Martin was then running a three-ring-circus. Foremost, he was a showman
who traveled the circuit of county fairs and air meets as an exhibitionist aviator; secondly, he
was an airplane manufacturer. He met his payroll and bought his lumber, linen and bailing wire
from the proceeds of his precision exhibition flying. His mother, Minta and two men ran the
factory when Glenn was risking his neck and gadding about the country. One of these was 22-
year old Donald Douglas who was the whole of his engineering department and the other was a
Santa Monica boy named Larry Bell who ran the shop.

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The third circus ring was a flying school. It had a land plane operation in Griffith Park and later
at Bennett’s Farm in Inglewood, and a hydroplane operation at a place that's now part of the
Watts District. A stunt flyer named Floyd Smith ran it. One of his first pupils was Eric Springer,
who later became an instructor and then Martin's test pilot, still later the test pilot for the early
Douglas Company, and then a Division Manager.
Between Eric and Floyd, they taught a rich young man named Bill Boeing to fly. Having
mastered the art; Boeing bought a Martin biplane, hired Ross Stem, Glenn's personal mechanic,
and shipped the airplane to Seattle. Later, when it crashed into the lake and Boeing set about to
repair it, he ordered some spare parts from Martin in Los Angeles.
Martin, remembering the proselytizing incident with Ross Stem, decided to take his sweet time
and let Boeing stew. Bill Boeing said, To Hell with him, and told Ross Stern to get busy and
build one of their own. Boeing had a friend named Westerfelt and they decided to form a
company and build two airplanes. These two BW airplanes bore a remarkable resemblance to the
Martin airplane which, in turn, had been copied from Glenn Curtiss. There seems to be a moral
about customer relations and product support mixed up in this episode.
During WWI, a bunch of sharpies from Wall Street in New York got control of the Wright
Company in Dayton and the Martin Company in Los Angeles. They merged the two companies
into the Wright-Martin Company. They sent a young man named Chance Vought to be their
Chief Engineer. Donald Douglas lost no time in quitting and went to work for the U.S. Signal
Corp.

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The Wright-Martin Company started building obsolete Standard biplanes and Hispano-Suiza
engines, with the latter under a license agreement with the French Government. Martin told them
what they could do with them, and took off for Cleveland, taking Larry Bell and Eric Springer
with him. Having the backing of a baseball mogul to build a new factory, he was soon joined by
Donald Douglas who went to work and came up with the design of the Martin Bomber. It came
out too late to see service in WWI, but showed its superiority when General Billy Mitchell made
everyone mad at him by sinking the captured German battle fleet. The deathblow to the allegedly
Dreadnaught Osfriesland was delivered by the Douglas designed Martin Bomber.
At Cleveland, a young fellow called Dutch Kindelberger joined the Martin Company as an
engineer. Also a veteran Army pilot from WWI named Carl Squier became Sales Manager. His
name was to become one of the most venerable names in Lockheed history. Back in 1920,
Donald Douglas had saved $60,000 and struck out on his own. He returned to Los Angeles,
found a backer, David Davis, rented the rear of a barbershop and some space in the loft of a
carpenter's shop where they built a passenger airplane called The Cloudster.
Claude Ryan bought this a couple years later, and made daily flights between San Diego and Los
Angeles with it. This gives Ryan the distinction of being the owner and operator of the first
Douglas Commercial Transport, and certainly a claim to be among the original airline passenger
operators.
In 1922, Donald Douglas was awarded a contract to build three torpedo planes for the U.S.
Navy; Douglas lived in Santa Monica, but worked in Los Angeles. Way out in the wilderness at

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what is now 25th Street and Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, there was an abandoned barn-
like movie studio. One day Douglas stopped his roadster and prowled around to investigate. The
studio became the first real home of the Douglas Aircraft Company.
With the $120,000 Navy contract, Donald Douglas needed and could afford one or two
engineers. He hired my brother Gordon Scott newly over from serving an apprenticeship to the
Martinside and the Fairey Aviation Companies in England. Gordon was well schooled in the
little known science of Aviation by 1923.
My first association with some of the early pioneers occurred when I visited my brother Gordon
at the barn at 25th Street. I found him outside on a ladder washing windows. They were dirty and
he was the youngest engineer. There were no janitorial services at the Douglas Company in those
days.
Gordon introduced me to Art Mankey, his boss and Chief Draftsman, and four of his fellow
engineers. There was a towhead guy called Jack Northrop, a chap named Jerry Vultee, and a
fellow named Dick Von Hake who was a reserve Army flyer. Jack Northrop came from Santa
Barbara where he had worked during WWI for the Lockheed Aircraft Manufacturing Company.
The fourth member of the Engineering Group was Ed Heinemann*. They were all working on
the design of the Douglas World Cruisers. Shortly afterwards, Jack Northrop left the Douglas
Company in 1926. Working at home, he designed a wonderfully advanced streamlined airplane.
He tied back with Allan Loughead who found a rich man, F.E. Keeler, willing to finance a new
Lockheed Aircraft Company. They rented a small shop in Hollywood and built the Northrop
designed Lockheed Vega. It was sensational with its clean lines and high performance.

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In May 1927, Lindberg flew to Paris and triggered a bedlam where everyone was trying to fly
everywhere. Before the first Vega was built, William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the Hearst
newspaper chain, bought it and entered it in the Dole Race from the Mainland to Honolulu,
which was scheduled for 12 August 1927.
In June 1927, my brother Gordon left the Douglas Company to become Jack Northrop's assistant
at Lockheed. He also managed to get himself hired as the navigator on the Golden Eagle, the
name chosen by Mr. Hearst for the Vega which hopefully would be the first airplane to span the
Pacific. The race was a disaster! Ten lives were lost. The Golden Eagle and its crew, including
my brother, vanished off the face of the earth.
With its only airplane lost under mysterious circumstances, a black cloud hung heavily over the
little shop in Hollywood. However, Captain George H. Wilkins, later to become Sir Hubert
Wilkins, took the Number Two airplane and made a successful polar flight from Nome, Alaska
to Spitsbergen, Norway. After that a string of successful flights were to put the name of
Lockheed very much in the forefront of aviation.
At Lockheed, Jack Northrop replaced the lost Gordon Scott with Jerry Vultee.
In 1928, Jack quit the Lockheed Company to start a new company in Glendale called Avion.
Jerry Vultee then moved up to become Chief Engineer at Lock heed. He hired Dick van Hake
from the Douglas Company to be his assistant. A young man named Cliff Garrett joined the
Lockheed Company as the driver of their pick-up truck.

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I went to work at Lockheed shortly after the Golden Eagle was lost. I became the 26th Lockheed
employee. The Vegas were made almost entirely of wood and I became a half-assed carpenter,
generally known as a wood butcher.
In 1929, Jerry Vultee quit the Lockheed Company to start the Airplane Development Company,
which became the Vultee Aircraft Company, a division of E.L. Cord, the automobile
manufacturer. He later merged with Reuben Fleets Consolidated Aircraft Company to become
Convair. When Vultee left Lockheed, Dick van Hake became the Chief Engineer.
In the meantime, Glenn Martin closed his Cleveland plant and moved to Baltimore. His
production man, Larry Bell, moved to Buffalo to found the Bell Aircraft Company. Carl Squier
left Martin to tie in with the Detroit Aircraft Company which had acquired the Lockheed Aircraft
Company and seven others. They hoped to become the General Motors of the aircraft business!
They appointed Carl Squier as General Manager of the Lockheed plant, which moved to
Burbank in 1928. (A lot of P-38s were made at that Burbank plant - added by L. Cruse Nov.
2007)
At this time, General Motors had acquired North American Aviation, which consisted of several
aircraft companies in the East. Ernie Breech, formerly with Bendix but now with General
Motors, hired Dutch Kindelberger away from Douglas to head up the aircraft manufacturing
units. Dutch took Lee Atwood and Stan Smithson with him. The companies involved were
Fokker Aircraft, Pitcairn Aviation (later Eastern Airlines), Sperry Gyroscope and Berliner-Joyce.
Kindelberger merged Fokker and Berliner-Joyce into a single company and moved the entire

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operation to Inglewood, California.
(Kindelberger and others at the North American Los Angeles plant designed the P-51 Mustang
that helped win WWII - added by L. Cruse Nov. 2007)
Thus, a handful of young men played roles which profoundly affected all of our lives and the
lives of millions of other Americans. They changed Southern California from a wasteland with a
few orange groves, apricot and avocado orchards and the celluloid industry of Hollywood to a
highly sophisticated industrial complex with millions of prosperous inhabitants. This
technological explosion had some very humble and human beginnings. The Acorns took root in
some strange places: a church, a cannery, a barbershop, but from them mighty Oaks have indeed
come to fruition.
(Essentially all of those Aircraft Plants are now GONE from Southern California - added by L.
Cruse Nov. 2007)
from: http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/acorndays.htm
Reprinted from NAAR (North American Aviation Retirees Bulletin) - Summer 2001
The Growing Days 1930-1990
Airliners, indeed, became mainstays of the industry during the 1930s. The Army and Navy
bought few airplanes during that decade, but people were beginning to fly. Boeing brought out
the 247, a fine twin-engine job that carried ten passengers where the Vega had room for only six.
But it wasn't fine enough; it lost out in competition with the Douglas DC-2, which carried
fourteen. An enlarged version, the DC-3, had twenty-one seats. Entering service in 1936, it had

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the range to fly nonstop from New York to Chicago. Within a few years, it swept most of its
rivals from the skies.
There were some military orders, even if they were not large. Martin built a good twin-engine
bomber, the B-10. Boeing, licking its wounds after losing with its 247, found new business by
crafting a much better bomber: the B-17. It had four engines, which gave it greater speed and
allowed it to carry more gasoline for longer range. It first flew during 1935 in tests for the Army.
The first of the B-17s crashed, and the company might have crashed with it. But Army officials
liked it, and ordered a few. This gave Boeing a leg up on building bombers for use in World War
II.
That war brought an enormous surge of business to the aircraft industry. Several companies built
the important warplanes of the era:
Boeing: B-17, B-29 bombers
Convair: B-24 bomber
Lockheed: P-38 fighter
Curtiss: P-40 fighter, C-46 transport
Douglas: C-47, C-54 transports
North American: P-51 fighter
Republic: P-47 fighter
Fleets of B-17s and B-24s, escorted by P-47, and P-51 fighters, destroyed many of Nazi
Germany's factories and railroads. B-29s carried firebombs that burned Japan's cities to the
ground. The C-46 carried supplies to China, helping that nation fight Japan and tying down a

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million Japanese soldiers who were fighting the Chinese. The C-47, a military version of the DC-
3, carried troops as well as cargo. Over ten thousand of them entered service. General Dwight
Eisenhower, the top U.S. commander, counted it as one of the items that did the most to win the
war.
The end of the war brought a swift collapse of the aviation industry. According to Boeing
historian Harold Mansfield, company officials learned of a sudden cancellation of army orders
and rushed to shut down the plant before the next shift of workers came in at four p.m. At North
American, employment dropped from 100,000 to 6,500 in only two months. As had been true
after World War I, following World War II the nation again was awash in used aircraft that were
available cheaply. A C-47 could be had for $25,000, payable at $4,000 per year, and could easily
convert into a DC-3.
For airlines, the DC-3 remained popular. Most air routes were short and carried relatively few
passengers on each flight, and the DC-3 served such connections quite effectively. However,
after the war there also were coast-to-coast routes along with connections that crossed the
Atlantic. For these, only new four-engine aircraft would do. Two became popular: the Lockheed
Constellation and the Douglas DC-6 (along with a later and faster version, the DC-7). Their
builders competed for advantage by offering improvements. The rivalry between Lockheed and
Douglas defined progress in commercial aviation until the coming of the jets.
The first jets were military. Lockheed, Republic, and North American built the first jet fighters:
the P-80, F-84, and F-86. The F-86 was the best of them, shooting down Russian-built fighters
and ruling the skies during the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Missiles and jet bombers also drew attention. North American made a strong and early
commitment to develop a missile of intercontinental range, the Navaho. This project needed

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rocket engines, guidance systems, and advanced designs that called for close understanding of
supersonic flight. At the outset, in 1945, the pertinent fields of engineering simply did not exist.
No matter, North American brought in good scientists and developed the necessary know-how
on its own.
Boeing showed similar leadership with jet bombers. The company used scientific data from the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, supplementing it with data from its own wind
tunnel, a research facility that helped to determine the best shapes for aircraft flying close to the
speed of sound. This allowed the company to develop the earliest important jet bomber, the B-
47. It first flew in 1947, with the Air Force purchasing over two thousand of them as it remained
in production from 1948 to 1956.
The B-47 introduced the shape of things to come, for it had swept wings, jet engines mounted in
pods below the wings, a swept tail, and a slender fuselage. During the 1950s, these design
features also appeared in the first successful jet airliners: the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.
Boeing and Douglas competed vigorously to sell these planes. The way to win an order was by
offering a custom version of a basic design, a modification that would serve an airline's specific
needs. These could include a shorter fuselage, a larger wing for long range, or more powerful
engines. Such modifications were costly, and Boeing proved to have the deeper pockets, for it
was selling planes to the Air Force in large numbers. Boeing paid for and built new airliner
versions that Douglas could not afford, thus winning an important advantage.
The 707 entered service in 1958, the DC-8 in 1959. Both aircraft had four engines and could fly
nonstop across the Atlantic as well as from coast to coast. In addition, there also was great
interest in a jetliner of shorter range, which could serve more routes. Boeing brought out its
727and went on to sell more than 1,800 of them. But Douglas stayed in the game as well, with its

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twinjet DC-9 that served routes that were shorter still. Many of these connections were only a
few hundred miles in length, but they were highly popular because they spared the need to drive
a car over that distance.
The Navy and Air Force had their own requirements. Convair built the B-36, which had six and
later ten engines. Boeing countered with the B-52, which mounted eight jet engines. It became
the main bomber of the Air Force's Strategic Air Command. In addition, the decade of the 1950s
brought a host of fighter aircraft. Almost every company in the industry built some, including
Douglas, Grumman, Lockheed, McDonnell, North American, Northrop, Republic, and Vought.
Missiles and space flight brought new opportunities. In 1954, the Air Force launched a major
push toward rockets of intercontinental range, able to carry a hydrogen bomb to Moscow. These
included the Atlas from Convair and the Titan, built by Martin. Douglas helped as well with the
Thor, based in England, which had less range but was available sooner. These missiles evolved
into launch vehicles for the space program.
Within that program, the civilian National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) came
to the forefront. During the 1960s it sponsored the Apollo program, which landed astronauts on
the moon. Again there were a number of participants, including Douglas, Grumman, McDonnell,
and Boeing. North American did the most, drawing on its experience with the Navaho. This
company built rocket engines, a major rocket stage, as well as the spacecraft that carried Apollo's
astronauts. It went on to build the Space Shuttle, including its main engines.
During the drawdown at the conclusion of the Vietnam war, in the early 1970s, Boeing,
Lockheed, and Douglas (which had merged with McDonnell) all fell into serious economic
trouble.

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For Boeing, the source of difficulty was the enormous new 747 airliner. The company went
deeply into debt to fund its development and initial production. But it couldn't deliver the early
models, because their engines were not ready. Then the nation went into a recession, and orders
dried up. Boeing came close to going bankrupt, but survived by selling improved versions of
earlier jets, including the 707 and 727.
The 747 was too large for most routes, which opened up an opportunity for an airliner of slightly
smaller size. Lockheed came in with its L-1011, while McDonnell Douglas offered its DC-10.
This was a mistake; there was room for one such airliner, but not both. However, neither
company would back down, and both lost a great deal of money because they could not sell
enough planes. Lockheed stopped building airliners altogether and became purely a military
plane builder. McDonnell Douglas stayed in the commercial world. But it now was financially
weak, and lacked the funds to develop anything more than variations of its DC-9 and DC-10.
This raised the prospect that Boeing would reign over the airlines, holding a near monopoly.
Airline executives chaffed at this possibility, for they enjoyed the competition and the lower
prices by multiple plane-building companies bid against each other. But during the late 1970s,
European plane builders came to their rescue. France and Great Britain had a strong aviation
industry; they had built the Concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. Now these countries
combined with West Germany to create Airbus Industrie. During the 1980s, it competed
vigorously with Boeing, winning a large number of orders.
While airliner sales remained very strong, military demand fell off sharply with the end of the
Cold War, in 1991. During earlier periods of demobilization, the Pentagon had helped keep its
planebuilders in business with a number of small orders spread out over the range of major

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manufacturers. However, fighters and bombers now were quite costly, and the Pentagon could
afford only a limited number of such programs.
Officials of the Defense Department responded by facilitating a series of mergers, to consolidate
the industry within a small number of companies that would have enough business to remain
strong. Boeing, holding great power due to its success in selling airliners, bought out McDonnell
Douglas and Rockwell International. Lockheed merged with Convair and with Martin Marietta,
forming the firm of Lockheed Martin. A similar merger created the firm of Northrop Grumman.
Today, these three U.S. companies dominate the American market for commercial airliners,
military aircraft, and launch vehicles for space flight.
During the 1980s, it competed vigorously with Boeing, winning a large number of orders.
While airliner sales remained very strong, military demand fell off sharply with the end of the
Cold War, in 1991. During earlier periods of demobilization, the Pentagon had helped keep its
planebuilders in business with a number of small orders spread out over the range of major
manufacturers. However, fighters and bombers now were quite costly, and the Pentagon could
afford only a limited number of such programs.
Officials of the Defense Department responded by facilitating a series of mergers, to consolidate
the industry within a small number of companies that would have enough business to remain
strong. Boeing, holding great power due to its success in selling airliners, bought out McDonnell
Douglas and Rockwell International. Lockheed merged with Convair and with Martin Marietta,
forming the firm of Lockheed Martin. A similar merger created the firm of Northrop Grumman.
Today, these three U.S. companies dominate the American market for commercial airliners,
military aircraft, and launch vehicles for space flight.

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An International Industry
International politics has always played a role in aviation. Aircraft in flight easily transcended
national borders, so governments jointly developed navigation systems and airspace protocols.
Spacecraft overflew national borders within seconds so nations set up international bodies to
allocate portions of near-earth space. INTELSAT, an international consortium modeled on
COMSAT (the American consortium that governed operations of commercial satellites)
standardized the operation of geosynchronous satellites to start the commercialization of space.
Those who dreamed of space colonization also dreamed it might be free of earthly politics.
Internationalization more clearly reshaped aerospace by helping firms from other countries find
the economies of scale they needed to forge a place in an industry so clearly dominated by
American firms.
Only the Soviet Union challenged the American aerospace industry. In some areas, like heavy
lifting rockets and space medicine, the Soviets outpaced the Americans. But the Soviets and
Americans fought solely in the realm of perceptions of military might, not on any military or
economic battleground. The Soviets also sold military aircraft and civil transports but, with few
exceptions, an airline bought either Soviet or American aircraft because of alliance politics rather
than efficiencies in the marketplace. Even in civil aircraft, the Soviet Union invested far more
than their returns. In 1991, when the Soviet Union fractured into smaller states and the subsidies
disappeared, the once mighty Soviet aerospace firms were reduced to paupers. European firms
then stood as more serious competitors, largely because they had developed a global
understanding of the industry.
Following World War II, the European aircraft industry was in shards. Germany, Italy, and Japan
were prohibited from making any aircraft of significance. French and British firms remained

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strong and innovative, though these firms sold mostly to their nation's militaries and airlines.
Neither could buy as many aircraft as their American counterparts, and European firms could not
sufficiently amortize their engineering costs. During the 1960s, European governments allowed
aircraft and missile firms to fail or consolidate into clear "national champions:" British Aircraft
Corporation, Hawker Siddely Aviation, and Rolls-Royce in Britain; Aerospatiale, Dassault,
SNECMA and Matra in France; Messerschmit-Bölkow-Blohm and VFW in Germany; and
CASA in Spain. Then governments asked their national champions to join transnational
consortia intent on building specific types of aircraft -- like the PANAVIA Tornado fighter, the
launch vehicles and satellites of the European Space Agency or, most successfully, the Airbus
airliners. The matrix of many national firms participating variously in many transnational
projects meant that the European industry operated neither as monopoly nor monopsony.
Meanwhile international travel grew rapidly, and airlines became some of the world's largest
employers. By the late 1950s, the major airlines had transitioned to Boeing or Douglas-built jet
airliners -- which carried twice as many passengers at twice the speed in greater comfort.
Between 1960 and 1974 passenger volume on international flights grew six fold. The Boeing
747, a jumbo jet with 360 seats, took international air travel to a new level of excitement when
introduced in January 1970. Each nation had at least one airline, and each airline had slightly
different requirements for the aircraft they used. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas pioneered new
methods of mass customization to build aircraft to these specifications. The Airbus A300 first
flew in September 1972, and European governments continued to subsidize the Airbus Industrie
consortium as it struggled for customers. In the 1980s, air travel again enjoyed a growth spurt
that Boeing and Douglas could not immediately satisfy, and Airbus found its market. By the
1990s, the Airbus consortium had built a contractor network with tentacles around the world, had
developed a family of successful airliners, and split the market with American producers.

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Aerospace extends beyond the most industrialized nations. Walt Rostow in his widely read book
on economic development used aviation imagery to suggest a trajectory of industrial growth. The
imagery was not lost on newly industrializing countries like Brazil, Israel, Taiwan, South Korea,
Singapore or Indonesia. They too entered the industry, opportunistically, by setting up depots to
maintain the aircraft they bought abroad. Then, they took subcontracts from American and
European firms to learn how to manage their own projects to high standards. Nations at war -- in
the Middle East, Africa, and Asia -- proved ready customers for these simple and inexpensive
aircraft. Missiles, likewise, if derived from proven designs, were generally easy and cheap to
produce. By 1971, fourteen nations could build short-range and air-defense missiles. By the
1990s more than thirty nations had some capacity to manufacture complete aircraft. Some made
only small, general-purpose aircraft -- which represent a tiny fraction of the total dollar value of
the industry but proved immensely important to a military and communication needs of
developing states. The leaders of almost every nation have seen aircraft as a leading sector -- one
that creates spin offs and sets the pace of technological advance in an entire economy.
A Post-Cold War World
When the Cold War ended, the aerospace industry changed dramatically. After the record run up
in the federal deficit during the 1980s, by 1992 the United States Congress demanded a peace
dividend and slashed funding for defense procurement. By 1994, the demand for civil airliners
also underwent a cyclical downturn. Aerospace-dependent regions -- notably Los Angeles and
Seattle -- suffered recession then rebuilt their economies around different industries. Aerospace
employed 1.3 million Americans in 1989 or 8.8 percent of everyone working in manufacturing;
by 1995 aerospace employed only 796,000 people or 4.3 percent of everyone working in a

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manufacturing industry. As it had for decades, in 1985 aerospace employed about one-fifth of all
American scientists and engineers engaged in research and development; by 1999 it employed
only seven percent.
Rather than diversify or shed capacity haphazardly, aerospace firms focused. They divested or
merged feverishly in 1995 and 1996, hoping to find the best consolidation partners before the
federal government feared that competition would suffer. GE sold its aerospace division to
Martin Marietta, which then sold itself to Lockheed. Boeing bought the aerospace units of
Rockwell International, and then acquired McDonnell Douglas. Northrop bought Grumman.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing both ended up with about ten percent of all government aerospace
contracts, though joint ventures and teaming remained significant. The concentration in the
American industry made it look like European industry, except that in the margins new venture-
backed firms sprang up to develop new hybrid aircraft. Funding for space vehicles held fairly
steady as new firms found new uses for satellites in communications, defense, and remote
sensing of the earth. NASA reconfigured its relations with industry around the mantra of "faster,
better, and cheaper," especially in the creation of reusable launch vehicles.
Throughout the Cold War, total sales by aerospace firms has divided one-half aircraft, with that
amount split fairly evenly between military and civil, one quarter space vehicles, one-tenth
missiles, and the rest ground support equipment. When spending for aerospace recovered in the
late 1990s, there was the first significant shift toward sales of civil aircraft. After a century of
development, there are strong signs that the aircraft and space industries are finally breaking free
of their military vassalage. There are also strong signs that the industry is becoming global --
trans-Atlantic mergers, increasing standardization of parts and operations, aerospace imports and
exports rising in lockstep. More likely, as it has been for a century, aerospace will remain
intimately tied to the nation state.

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Chapter 1B
HELICOPTERS
"The Helicopter is the most versatile way of getting in and out anywhere in the world”
HISTORY OF HELICOPTERS
By: Katie Kimmet and Amanda Nash
“The vertical flight of the helicopter is an advantage to the world” “because, it allows flight and
landings without runways almost anywhere in the world”
Introduction to Helicopters
The development of the helicopter, perhaps one of man's most complex flying machines, is an
example of the effects of technological revolution (Sadler 1). The helicopter began as a basic
principle of rotary-wing aviation and evolved into something much greater as human ingenuity
and technology in America and elsewhere contributed to its development. The precision of parts
due to the Industrial Revolution enabled the helicopter to evolve into the modern machines we
see flying today. The need of accurate machinery and fixtures was evident when the earliest
helicopter models lacked the efficiency and flying capability of modern helicopters.
Early Concepts of the Helicopter
The Chinese
The first concept of rotary-wing aviation came from the Chinese in the Fourth Century A.D. (Fay
125-126). A book called "Pao Phu Tau" tells of the "Master" describing flying cars (fei chhe)
with wood from the inner part of the jujube tree with ox-leather straps fastened to returning
blades as to set the machine in motion (huan chien i yih chhi chi) (Fay 125-126). "Joseph

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Needham, the author of Science and Civilization, also suggests that although this was no more
than a design for a toy, it is indeed the first recorded pattern of what we might understand as a
helicopter" (Sadler 1). The concept of rotary-wing aviation had unquestionably been found, but
the technology needed to create a helicopter had not been produced.
Figure 4.
Courtesy of "History of Helicopters ".
Leonardo Da Vinci
Da Vinci's vaunted spiral design created in 1490, called the Helical Air Screw, has often been
cited as the first serious attempt to produce a working helicopter (Sadler 1). Da Vinci himself
quoted on the device: "...I have discovered that a screw-shaped device such as this, if it is well
made from starched linen, will rise in the air if turned quickly..." (History of Helicopters 1).
However, this was only an experimental design and was never put into practical use. "Da Vinci
was in this instance no more than an experimental engineer, putting onto paper age-old
principles" (Sadler 1). Without adequate technology the ability to create such machines was
virtually impossible during this time.
Fifteenth through the Twentieth Centuries
A wide amount of minor inventions contributed to the advancement of the helicopter. Between
the Fifteenth and Twentieth Centuries, adequate machinery needed to produce helicopters, like
turbine engines and rotors, was not yet made possible by assembly lines, but as the Industrial
Revolution prompted factories and technology accelerated, the helicopter evolved. One of the
first breakthroughs in helicopter advancement was by George Cayley who produced a convert-

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plane in 1843 (Sadler 1). A man named Bourne flew the helicopter-like aircraft a year later. This
model was apparently powered by spring-like contraptions inside (Fay 127). All helicopter
models at this time lacked suitable power to achieve flight and were both bulky and heavy.
Early Twentieth Century
The early Twentieth Century produced many historic moments in rotary-wing aviation. Brothers
Louis and Jacques Breget rose some two inches off the ground in their helicopter model on
August 24, 1907 (Sadler 2). A Frenchman named Paul Cornu also achieved free flight in his
model in 1907 (Fay 132). The flight lasted only twenty seconds and acquired an altitude of thirty
centimeters but was still a landmark development in helicopter evolution. The start of the
Industrial Revolution had created a way for technology to advance.
World War I Advancements
Military Interest in the helicopter during World War I contributed to its advancement also. The
first recorded example of this involved the Germans Von Karman and Petrosczy and the
Hungarian Asboth. These men produced a lifting device intended to replace kite balloons for
observation. "It consisted of two superimposed lifting propellers" (Fay 133). This autogyro
model, called the PKZ-2, failed because of various difficulties. It was not until the late period of
World War I that major helicopter advances were made. The quality and quantity of production
materials increased, and great improvements were made in the field of engine technology in
many parts of the world including Europe and the United States. An aircraft model for military
advancement was needed for more versatile and precise war tactics. With better technology and
more need, the next step in helicopter advancement would soon come.

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Figure 5. Built for US Army Air Force by Georgrij Bothezat (USSR). Courtesy of "History
of Helicopters".
Autogyros are invented
The autogyro evolved from earlier models during this time. A Spaniard named Juana de la
Cierva experimented with autogyros for the allies in Great Britain until his death in 1936 (Sadler
2). Two Cierva C.40 autogyros were used for Air Observation Post during World War I. They
did have some setbacks, however. Autogyros could neither hover nor descend vertically like the
modern helicopter. Relying on forward motion, the autogyros's primitive engine lacked the
power to run as efficiently as the helicopters. The helicopter's superiority was made readily
apparent by the planned replacement of the RAF's No. 529 Squadron's autogyros with the
Sikorsky aircraft in 1944 (Sadler 2).
Figure 6. Modern Autogyro courtesy of "History of Helicopters".

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Sikorsky's Advancements
The success in the field of rotary-wing aviation was due almost entirely to a man living in
America named Igor Sikorsky. Sikorsky was a Russian who had fled from the Bolshevik
Revolution in 1917 to France (Sadler 2). After years of private development, he encouraged the
United States Government to agree to a considerable budget of two million dollars for rotary-
wing research in 1938 (Sadler 2). The government ended up choosing a joint Sikorsky-Vought
effort to be funded, and the project evolved into the VS-300 model helicopter. It formed the most
tangible link between the early design concept of rotary-wing aviation and the practical aircraft
that is capable of military operation (Sadler 2). The machine was indeed quite different from
earlier models. It was an incredible advancement in helicopters, but others soon followed.
Figure 7.
One of Sikorsky's earlier models. Courtesy of "History of Helicopters".
1950 Advancements
During the 1950s many new advancements in helicopters were made. Sikorsky crafted the
world's first certified commercial transport helicopter, the S-55 Chickasaw (H-19). Another man
named Hiller created the flying platform called the Hiller XROE-1 Rotorcycle.
Figure 8.
Hiller's flying platform courtesy of "History of Helicopters".

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The Turbine Engine's Impact
The creation of the turbine engine advanced the helicopter's capabilities even further. With
assembly lines brought about by the Industrial Revolution, these engines could be produced with
high efficiency and increased precision. The world's first turbine gas-powered engine was the
Kaman K-225 (History of Helicopters 3). Mc Donnell made the first successful helicopter with
horizontal winged flight from a vertical rotor powered by the turbine engine (History of
Helicopers 3). He continued to create newer models in the proceeding decades.
Figure 9.
Mc Donnell's helicopter courtesy of History of Helicopters.
1960s & 1970s: The Vietnam War and how the helicopter changed
The 1960s and the 1970s marked a widespread advancement in helicopters because of the
Vietnam War. Beginning in 1964 this war lasted for almost a decade (Garraty 1078). The
military's need for advanced helicopters can be seen in historical pictures of the machines flying
through the jungles of Vietnam to retrieve wounded troops. Helicopters were also used as
weapons during this time. Many new helicopters appeared with missile capabilities. The Bell 209
Cobra "Snake" is one such helicopter. Large missiles protruded from the sides of the machine on
metal bases above. Another example is the Gyrodyne QH-50 (History of Helicopters 4). This
helicopter used infrared cameras to observe at night for better protection (History of Helicopters
4). This helicopter is still being utilized today.

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Figure 10. Bell 209 Cobra "Snake" courtesy of "History of Helicopters".
1980s and the Helicopter
During the 1980s helicopter advancement was evidently seen as the machinery was refined. Mc
Donnell continued to produce helicopters like the Tiltrotor Unmanned Air Vehicle and the
Bell/Boeing 609, the world's first commercial tiltrotor (History of Helicopters 1). Smaller
helicopters were produced to fulfill the public's needs. The Ultrasport Helicopters and the Air
Command International Commander 14/A are appreciable examples. Many helicopters used jet
thrust rather than blades to give the directional stability, which made them extremely quiet
(History of Helicopters 5).
Figure 11. Bell/Boeing 609 courtesy of "History of Helicopters".

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Early 1990s and the Helicopter
During the early 1990s helicopters were produced by large corporations like the Euro copter
Industry (Spartacus 57) and the Civil Helicopter Industry (Proctor 88). The Revolution
Helicopter Corporation created a single-seat helicopter that can be built by a person at home in
forty to sixty hours (History of Helicopters 4). The machines were used in all areas of the public
including the police force and hospitals. Helicopters are still used in this way in the late 1990s.
They are evolving to become more efficient and capable of reaching their goals.
Figure 12. Revolution Helicopter Corp. Mini 500 courtesy of "History of Helicopters".
Conclusion of Helicopter Evolution
The vertical flight of the helicopter is an advantage to the world. Because of advanced machinery
such as turbine engines and pistons contributed by technology, the helicopter can be seen flying
today. Since history the idea of rotary-wing flight has been accounted by curious individuals
recognizing its potential. These ideas have evolved from a dream to a reality because of
technology and will continue to evolve through time with the advancement of it.
 Add the Helicopter existence:
o Igor Sikorsky vs. years to develop controlled Vertical Lift.

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o Vertical Lift blade, Counter Rotating as start
o Then Counter separated Main Rotor split to the side which worked and evolved into
the Chinook Heavy Lifting Aircraft.
o Factor of three:
 Vertical Lift blade
 Engine(s)
 Tail Rotor (McDonnell Douglas Notar
o V-22 our Nation bet the 50 year future on this technology, it didn’t succeed as well as
expected because: Noise and transitioning wasn’t always simple.

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Chapter 1C
ROCKET SHIPS
"The Rocket ship is the way to get into Space because it carries its complete propellant”
HISTORY OF ROCKET SHIPS
“This technological explosion had some very humble and human beginnings. The Acorns took
root in some strange places: a church, a cannery, a barbershop, but from them mighty Oaks
have indeed come to fruition”. Whoever wrote it?
Today's rockets are remarkable collections of human ingenuity. NASA's Space Shuttle, for
example, is one of the most complex flying machines ever invented. It stands upright on a launch
pad, lifts off as a rocket, orbits Earth as a spacecraft, and returns to Earth as a gliding airplane.
The Space Shuttle is a true spaceship. In a few years it will be joined by other spaceships. The
European Space Agency is building the Hermes and Japan is building the HOPE. Still later may
become aerospace planes that will take off from runways as airplanes, fly into space, and return
as airplanes.
The rockets and spaceships of today and the spaceships of the future have their roots in the
science and technology of the past. They are natural outgrowths of literally thousands of years of
experimentation and research on rockets and rocket propulsion.
One of the first devices to successfully employ the principles essential to rocket flight was a
wooden bird. In the writings of Aulus Gellius, a Roman, there is a story of a Greek named

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Archytas who lived in the city of Tarentum, now a part of southern Italy. Somewhere around the
year 400 B.C., Archytas mystified and amused the citizens of Tarentum by flying a pigeon made
of wood. It appears that the bird was suspended on wires and propelled along by escaping steam.
The pigeon used the action-reaction principle that was not to be stated as a scientific law until the
17th century.
About three hundred years after the pigeon, another Greek, Hero of Alexandria, invented a
similar rocket-like device called an aeolipile. It, too, used steam as a propulsive gas. Hero
mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. A fire below the kettle turned the water into steam,
and the gas traveled through pipes to the sphere. Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the
sphere allowed the gas to escape, and in doing so gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to
rotate.

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Figure 13. Hero Engine
Just when the first true rockets appeared is unclear. Stories of early rocket like devices appear
sporadically through the historical records of various cultures. Perhaps the first true rockets were
accidents. In the first century A.D., the Chinese were reported to have had a simple form of
gunpowder made from saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal dust. It was used mostly for fireworks in
religious and other festive celebrations. Bamboo tubes were filled with the mixture and tossed
into fires to create explosions during religious festivals. lt is entirely possible that some of those
tubes failed to explode and instead skittered out of the fires, propelled by the gases and sparks
produced by the burning gunpowder.
Figure 14. Chinese Fire Arrow
It is certain that the Chinese began to experiment with the gunpowder-filled tubes. At some
point, bamboo tubes were attached to arrows and launched with bows. Soon it was discovered
that these gunpowder tubes could launch themselves just by the power produced from the
escaping gas. The true rocket was born.
The first date we know true rockets were used was the year 1232. At this time, the Chinese and
the Mongols were at war with each other. During the battle of Kai-Keng, the Chinese repelled
the Mongol invaders by a barrage of "arrows of flying fire." These fire-arrows were a simple
form of a solid-propellant rocket. A tube, capped at one end, was filled with gunpowder. The
other end was left open and the tube was attached to a long stick. When the powder was ignited,

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the rapid burning of the powder produced fire, smoke, and gas that escaped out the open end and
produced a thrust. The stick acted as a simple guidance system that kept the rocket headed in one
general direction as it flew through the air. It is not clear how effective these arrows of flying fire
were as weapons of destruction, but their psychological effects on the Mongols must have been
formidable.
Figure 15. Chinese Fire Arrow Launch
Following the battle of Kai-Keng, the Mongols produced rockets of their own and may have
been responsible for the spread of rockets to Europe. All through the 13th to the 15th centuries
there were reports of many rocket experiments. In England, a monk named Roger Bacon worked
on improved forms of gunpowder that greatly increased the range of rockets. In France, Jean
Froissart found that more accurate flights could be achieved by launching rockets through tubes.
Froissart's idea was the forerunner of the modern bazooka. Joanes de Fontana of Italy designed a
surface-running rocket-powered torpedo for setting enemy ships on fire.
Figure 16. Surface Running Torpedo

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By the 16th century rockets fell into a time of disuse as weapons of war, though they were still
used for fireworks displays, and a German fireworks maker, Johann Schmidlap, invented the
"step rocket," a multi-staged vehicle for lifting fireworks to higher altitudes. A large sky rocket
(first stage) carried a smaller sky rocket (second stage). When the large rocket burned out, the
smaller one continued to a higher altitude before showering the sky with glowing cinders.
Schmidlap's idea is basic to all rockets today that go into outer space.
Nearly all uses of rockets up to this time were for warfare or fireworks, but there is an interesting
old Chinese legend that reported the use of rockets as a means of transportation. With the help of
many assistants, a lesser-known Chinese official named Wan-Hu assembled a rocket- powered
flying chair. Attached to the chair were two large kites, and fixed to the kites were forty- seven
fire-arrow rockets.
On the day of the flight, Wan-Hu sat himself on the chair and gave the command to light the
rockets. Forty-seven rocket assistants, each armed with torches, rushed forward to light the fuses.
In a moment, there was a tremendous roar accompanied by billowing clouds of smoke. When the
smoke cleared, Wan-Hu and his flying chair were gone. No one knows for sure what happened to
Wan-Hu, but it is probable that if the event really did take place, Wan-Hu and his chair were
blown to pieces. Fire-arrows were as apt to explode as to fly.
Figure 17. Wan-Hu Flying Chair

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Rocketry Becomes a Science
During the latter part of the 17th century, the scientific foundations for modern rocketry were
laid by the great English scientist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Newton organized his
understanding of physical motion into three scientific laws. The laws explain how rockets work
and why they are able to work in the vacuum of outer space.
Newton's laws soon began to have a practical impact on the design of rockets. About 1720, a
Dutch professor, Willem Gravesande, built model cars propelled by jets of steam. Rocket
experimenters in Germany and Russia began working with rockets with a mass of more than 45
kilograms. Some of these rockets were so powerful that their escaping exhaust flames bored deep
holes in the ground even before lift-off.
During the end of the 18th century and early into the 19th, rockets experienced a brief revival as
a weapon of war. The success of Indian rocket barrages against the British in 1792 and again in
1799 caught the interest of an artillery expert, Colonel William Congreve. Congreve set out to
design rockets for use by the British military.
The Congreve rockets were highly successful in battle. Used by British ships to pound Fort
McHenry in the War of 1812, they inspired Francis Scott Key to write "the rockets' red glare,"
words in his poem that later became The Star- Spangled Banner.
Even with Congreve's work, the accuracy of rockets still had not improved much from the early
days. The devastating nature of war rockets was not their accuracy or power, but their numbers.
During a typical siege, thousands of them might be fired at the enemy. All over the world, rocket
researchers experimented with ways to improve accuracy. An Englishman, William Hale,
developed a technique called spin stabilization. In this method, the escaping exhaust gases struck

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small vanes at the bottom of the rocket, causing it to spin much as a bullet does in flight.
Variations of the principle are still used today.
Rockets continued to be used with success in battles all over the European continent. However,
in a war with Prussia, the Austrian rocket brigades met their match against newly designed
artillery pieces. Breech-loading cannon with rifled barrels and exploding warheads were far more
effective weapons of war than the best rockets. Once again, rockets were relegated to peacetime
uses.
Modern Rocketry Begins
In 1898, a Russian schoolteacher, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935), proposed the idea of
space exploration by rocket. In a report he published in 1903, Tsiolkovsky suggested the use of
liquid propellants for rockets in order to achieve greater range. Tsiolkovsky stated that the speed
and range of a rocket were limited only by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases. For his ideas,
careful research, and great vision, Tsiolkovsky has been called the father of modern astronautics.
Figure 18. Tsiolkovsky Rockets

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Early in the 20th century, an American, Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945), conducted practical
experiments in rocketry. He had become interested in a way of achieving higher altitudes than
were possible for lighter-than-air balloons. He published a pamphlet in 1919 entitled A Method
of Reaching Extreme Altitudes. It was a mathematical analysis of what is today called the
meteorological sounding rocket.
In his pamphlet, Goddard reached several conclusions important to rocketry. From his tests, he
stated that a rocket operates with greater efficiency in a vacuum than in air. At the time, most
people mistakenly believed that air was needed for a rocket to push against and a New York
Times newspaper editorial of the day mocked Goddard's lack of the "basic physics ladled out
daily in our high schools." Goddard also stated that multistage or step rockets were the answer to
achieving high altitudes and that the velocity needed to escape Earth's gravity could be achieved
in this way.
Goddard's earliest experiments were with solid-propellant rockets. In 1915, he began to try

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various types of solid fuels and to measure the exhaust velocities of the burning gases.
Figure 19. Goddard’s 1926 Rocket
While working on solid-propellant rockets, Goddard became convinced that a rocket could be
propelled better by liquid fuel. No one had ever built a successful liquid-propellant rocket before.
It was a much more difficult task than building solid- propellant rockets. Fuel and oxygen tanks,
turbines, and combustion chambers would be needed. In spite of the difficulties, Goddard
achieved the first successful flight with a liquid- propellant rocket on March 16, 1926. Fueled by
liquid oxygen and gasoline, the rocket flew for only two and a half seconds, climbed 12.5 meters,
and landed 56 meters away in a cabbage patch. By today's standards, the flight was
unimpressive, but like the first powered airplane flight by the Wright brothers in 1903, Goddard's
gasoline rocket was the forerunner of a whole new era in rocket flight.
Goddard's experiments in liquid-propellant rockets continued for many years. His rockets
became bigger and flew higher. He developed a gyroscope system for flight control and a
payload compartment for scientific instruments. Parachute recovery systems were employed to
return rockets and instruments safely. Goddard, for his achievements, has been called the father
of modern rocketry.

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A third great space pioneer, Hermann Oberth (1894-1989) of Germany, published a book in 1923
about rocket travel into outer space. His writings were important. Because of them, many small
rocket societies sprang up around the world. In Germany, the formation of one such society, the
Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel), led to the development of the V-2 rocket,
which was used against London during World War II. In 1937, German engineers and scientists,
including Oberth, assembled in Peenemunde on the shores of the Baltic Sea. There the most
advanced rocket of its time would be built and flown under the directorship of Wernher von
Braun.

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Figure 20. German V2 Rocket
The V-2 rocket (in Germany called the A-4) was small by comparison to today's rockets. It
achieved its great thrust by burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at a rate of about one
ton every seven seconds. Once launched, the V-2 was a formidable weapon that could devastate
whole city blocks.
Fortunately for London and the Allied forces, the V-2 came too late in the war to change its
outcome. Nevertheless, by war's end, German rocket scientists and engineers had already laid
plans for advanced missiles capable of spanning the Atlantic Ocean and landing in the United
States. These missiles would have had winged upper stages but very small payload capacities.
With the fall of Germany, many unused V-2 rockets and components were captured by the
Allies. Many German rocket scientists came to the United States. Others went to the Soviet
Union. The German scientists, including Wernher von Braun, were amazed at the progress
Goddard had made.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union realized the potential of rocketry as a military
weapon and began a variety of experimental programs. At first, the United States began a
program with high-altitude atmospheric sounding rockets, one of Goddard's early ideas. Later, a
variety of medium- and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles were developed. These
became the starting point of the U.S. space program. Missiles such as the Redstone, Atlas, and
Titan would eventually launch astronauts into space.
On October 4, 1957, the world was stunned by the news of an Earth-orbiting artificial satellite
launched by the Soviet Union. Called Sputnik I, the satellite was the first successful entry in a
race for space between the two superpower nations. Less than a month later, the Soviets followed

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with the launch of a satellite carrying a dog named Laika on board. Laika survived in space for
seven days before being put to sleep before the oxygen supply ran out.
A few months after the first Sputnik, the United States followed the Soviet Union with a satellite
of its own. Explorer I was launched by the U.S. Army on January 31, 1958. In October of that
year, the United States formally organized its space program by creating the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA became a civilian agency with the goal
of peaceful exploration of space for the benefit of all humankind.
Soon, many people and machines were being launched into space. Astronauts orbited Earth and
landed on the Moon. Robot spacecraft traveled to the planets. Space was suddenly opened up to
exploration and commercial exploitation. Satellites enabled scientists to investigate our world,
forecast the weather, and to communicate instantaneously around the globe. As the demand for
more and larger payloads increased, a wide array of powerful and versatile rockets had to be
built.
Since the earliest days of discovery and experimentation, rockets have evolved from simple
gunpowder devices into giant vehicles capable of traveling into outer space. Rockets have
opened the universe to direct exploration by humankind.

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Chapter 2
Changing Times
"The defense industry became detached from the rest of the economy"
America's defense companies are turning dual-purpose
Jul 18th 2002 | from the print edition
THE 1990s were an eventful time for America's defense industry. With the cold war at an end,
the number of big American contractors came down from 15 to five (Lockheed Martin, Boeing,
Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics) within a decade. That was a dramatic
consolidation, but as budgets shrank, it was not unexpected.
The other, more surprising development was that the defense industry turned into a kind of

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ghetto, despite considerable efforts to make doing business with the Pentagon easier and less
bureaucratic. Barriers to entry were removed in the hope of turning defense into something more
like a normal business, but instead of an influx of new blood, a mass exodus followed. IBM,
General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, General Electric (except engines) and Texas Instruments all sold
or closed their defense companies. As Merrill Lynch's Byron Callan put it, “The defense industry
became detached from the rest of the economy.”
Figure 21. Aerospace & Defense Sales
The reasons are not hard to find: the federal government is a demanding customer; defense profit
margins are often tighter than in the private sector; and strict rules on procurement have in the
past caused some defense companies to lose money on fixed-price development contracts. Many
companies decided the defense game was not worth the candle.
Downsizing: Merger & Acquisitions
A survey of the defense industry: Getting it together?
With just a handful of big American companies and a trio of European ones, each of which
dominates its home market and competes in places such as the Middle East and Asia, proper
globalization (in the sense of a number of transnational companies competing worldwide) seems
out of the question. But that does not mean that globalization will have no part in the defense
industry at all. Because electronics and computing software play an increasing role in defense
systems, the core defense companies have to ensure they have access to a wider pool of
technology.

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What remains to be seen over the next decade is whether the ghetto model will survive, or
whether defense will eventually move closer to commercial business. The more it does, the more
global it could get at the level of the second- or third-tier suppliers, who make components or
equipment for the prime contractors. Lawrence Freedman of King's College, London, who has
written on the implications of RMA, sees the ghetto walls coming down as the civil sector
develops more technical dynamism. The trend towards increased use of IT and systems
integration in warfare should accelerate this trend:
The old defense sector was based on dedicated programs with only a limited civilian spin-off.
This now exists side by side with a more dynamic industry, which can pass through two
generations of technology while the official defense-procurement machinery is still working its
way laboriously through its bureaucratic mechanisms. Although the electronics and computing
sectors originally took off on the back of military investment, they have now developed their
civilian markets to such an extent that even the military is a minor player.
Underlying this is a worry that the defense industry, having consolidated so much with a loss of
competition on both sides of the Atlantic, might begin to lag in innovation, and might not be up
to supporting the transformation of the armed forces it serves. Even though America's military
might and technology is streets ahead of anyone else's, the country cannot afford to be
complacent. A recent study by RAND's National Defense Research Institute looked at military
revolutions throughout history and found that, by and large, new ways of waging war were
usually developed by a country or a group that was not dominant at the time.
Indeed, it could be argued that the most revolutionary military development to happen in recent
times was the hijacking last September of four kerosene-laden jetliners to use as guided missiles

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in New York and Washington, DC. Modern electronic technology in the form of e-mails and the
Internet played a big part in the planning of this venture.
By contrast, the traditional defense industry grinds away slowly, with mighty systems immutably
determined by defense-department contracts. To take one example, the Joint Strike Fighter could
well go into service with electronics systems that, although state-of-the-art in 2006, will be
getting long in the tooth in 2012, unless something is done to update them.
Jerry Daniels at Boeing, which lost the JSF contract, points to the dangers that engineering teams
will scatter and expertise will be lost when Lockheed Martin eventually becomes the only
company making fighters. “Twenty years ago we had 50-odd defense contractors; today we have
a handful. Then there were many rapid opportunities to bid, there was always a new program
coming along.” By contrast, he explains, the trend now is towards fighters that combine many
functions and can be ordered in bulk. His (perhaps not entirely disinterested) suggestion is that it
might be better to go for upgrades every five years and put the work out to competitive bids. To
some extent, this is already being done. Boeing has recently won a contract to rethink and
upgrade the avionics on the C130 transport plane manufactured by its arch-rival, Lockheed
Martin. Then go onto Lockheed Martin to 2011, they turned out to be finances to be how much
per Aircraft? F-22 or F-35. My Brother In-Law finds humor in games of the things their new
Aircraft can Do. When asked at a certain range and sweep what is the most effective aircraft?
Most USAF Officials’ SAY f-22, answers was F-16.

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Figure 22. Defense Industry Consolidation 1993-2007
One reason why the defense department encouraged the mergers of the early and mid-1990s (see
figure 5) was that it was worried about the financial health of the industry as budgets shrank. But
by 1997, when a weak Northrop Grumman thought its best hope was to become part of the much
larger Lockheed Martin, the government had had enough and blocked the merger on competition
grounds. According to Pierre Chao of CSFB, an investment bank, the defense department then
got into a panic about the collapse of defense shares as consolidation ended.
One concern in the Pentagon was that the defense contractors might have increasing trouble
attracting capital and talent for which other high-tech firms are also competing. Mr Callan points
out that a high-tech company such as Intel has a market capitalisation of over $100 billion,

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