Wings #5

3.  The helicopter was important for the development of aviation technology because it allowed vertical flight and the ability to hover.  The helicopter was very popular early on because it was cheaper to produce than an airplane, and was seen as the "personal transport of tomorrow" (pg. 470).  Helicopters soon became invaluable during warfare.  Vertical take-off meant that helicopters had access to places that airplanes did not.  This meant that they were highly mobile and could be deployed quickly, without the need of a landing strip or miles of clear ground.  Their unique capabilities made them perfect for search-and-rescue missions as well as medical evacuations (pg. 472-473).  They could be used to drop soldiers "directly onto enemy positions" (pg. 473).  The combination of these meant that helicopters were the perfect aircraft for the guerrilla warfare that followed WWII.  During Vietnam helicopters became larger and more advanced, turning into formidable gunships that could "carry forty-four troops over a distance of 110 miles" and would essentially replace wheeled vehicles during that war (pg. 473).  In all the helicopter was extremely important because it opened up whole new avenues of flight that the airplane could not.

7.  The invention of the computer had an enormous impact on the future of aviation technology.  Before the invention of the computer, aviation engineers had to employ dozens of mathematicians to work on calculations in parallel, acting as sort of a human computer.  With the invention of the computer these calculations could be done in a fraction of the time and with greater accuracy.  Newly developed computer programs allowed the engineers to draft and test aircraft design without having to physically build anything.  The computer turned the airplane business into a "mass production industry in which special-purpose machines enabled semiskilled workers to send a steady stream of...planes out the factory doors in record time" (pg. 514).  Not only did the computer revolutionize how the airplane was designed and built, it also changed the way they flew.  Computer systems could create flight simulators to train pilots before they ever got off the ground (pg. 521).  They also allowed advanced aircraft and missile tracking and targeting systems to be developed; which made missiles deadlier but also could give pilots an advanced warning of missile launch (pg. 522).  And of course, the computer led to the advances that allowed space exploration to become a reality.  Now, computers are a necessary part of any aircraft both because the planes are so complex and advanced, and because the skies are so crowded (pg. 511).

10.  The invention of flight may be the most important military technology since the invention of gunpowder.  This is because no two inventions have had such a dramatic impact on the state of the world.  When gunpowder was introduced to Europe from China we see a dramatic change take place in almost every aspect of life.  Castles are fortified with walls that are meters thick in order to protect against cannon fire.  Hunting laws have to be introduced to prevent the eradication of game.  The use of guns changed war dramatically from a game of strategy to a game of numbers.  Gunpowder allowed for the creation of unskilled militia.  Gunpowder allowed people to kill in numbers that had never been seen previously.  Gunpowder conquered the New World.  The invention of aviation had a similar impact.  Once again cities had to evolve by building landing strips, control towers and bomb shelters.  New laws had to be created to protect the airspace above countries.  Aviation changed warfare once again from a game of numbers and chance to a game of strategy.  The airplane allowed mankind to rain down destruction like never before.  But the technology of flight also allowed us to discover more about our planet than we ever knew before.  It allowed us to find and travel to every hidden nook and cranny.  Aviation even let us begin to explore the final frontier and put men on the moon.  In terms of changing the planet, I would agree that aviation has had at least as big of an impact as the invention of gunpowder.