Aircraft Industry After Ww2

Following World War II, many challenges and opportunities in the aircraft industry developed. During the later years of World War II, the aircraft industry was manufacturing high performance aircraft in support of the war effort. The list of aircraft is long, but one airplane sets the benchmark for performance. The North American P-51 Mustang was a 1500 horsepower single-seat pursuit aircraft capable of exceeding 440 miles per hour (WWII Aircraft, n.d.). Following World War II the basic technology needed for aviation had been developed (?). During the war years, a minor military contractor was the Boeing Company, which subsequently became the biggest aircraft producer in the world (Global Aircraft, n.d.). Following World War II, the basic

Two great revolutions that transformed aeronautics following World War II were the invention of the jet engine and the development of high-speed aerodynamic theory (?). This theory enabled the development of transonic and supersonic aircraft (?). Credited with the invention of the jet engine were Sir Frank Whittle and Dr. Hans von Ohain (Bellis, 2014). According to Bellis (2014), the jet engine was manufactured in several forms, depending on the application. These configurations were: turbojets, turboprops, turbofans, and turboshafts (??). The jet engine was instrumental in increasing the speed, range and altitude capabilities for commercial aircraft flying passengers throughout the world (???). Now that there was a modern propulsion system, aircraft engineers were faced with developing new aircraft designs to take full advantage of the new jet engine (???). German engineers determined that a swept wing design is favorable for high speed flight (??). The British and Americans also began development of swept wing designs during the later years of World War II. This technology was adopted by commercial air manufacturers, such as the Boeing Company. The Boeing B47 swept wing design was adopted for use in commercial aircraft production. This design is still in

Modern airliners operate at altitudes that are not suitable to sustain human life. Prior to 1940 passenger aircraft were not pressurized which meant they had to fly at altitudes that would allow passengers to breathe normally in the cabin. Passenger aircraft could not take advantage of the performance benefits of flying at altitudes above FL 180 with an unpressurized cabin. In 1937, the U.S. Army Air Corp began research flights in a modified Lockheed Electra utilizing a pressurized cabin (????). The XC-35 was the first airplane built with a pressurized cabin (???). Two years later, the Boeing Company submitted a design to the Air Corps for a long-range bomber, the B-29 Superfortress, which would have pressurized compartments for the crew. In 1940, Boeing began flying passengers in pressurized comfort in the Boeing 307 Stratoliner. Engineers had to pay close attention to the structural loads placed on the fuselage as it expands under pressure. This concept was new and untested. The structural strength of the airplane determines how much differential pressure the cabin can tolerate. Special attention was given to window design as this was a potential failure point (Larson, 2002). These structural failures became evident in the mid 1950’s with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). BOAC was flying the de Havilland DH-106 Comet when they experienced