The technology and economics of air transport in its next phase

Abstract

It is now 72 years since the Wright Brothers made the first controlled flights with a manned heavier-than-air machine, and I am deeply conscious of the great honour conveyed by the invitation to deliver this 64th Memorial Lecture commemorating their great achievement. Their research and development work provides a classic model of a combination of the scientific and practical approaches to the solution of a major problem. However, it is fascinating to look back to those very different days at the turn of the century, and see how incompletely they foresaw all the consequences of their own efforts. Contemporary evidence suggests that their vision was confined to certain secondary uses of the aeroplane, such as military reconnaissance, sport and exploration.