Case Study Activity 2 ASCI 202, Essays (university) of Aeronautical Engineering

Download Case Study Activity 2 ASCI 202 and more Essays (university) Aeronautical Engineering in PDF only on Docsity!

Running head: AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING POST WORLD WAR II 1 Aircraft Manufacturing Post World War II Taylor Jolley Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 24 February 2018

Aircraft Manufacturing Post World War II The transition from piston-engine to high-performance jet engine aircraft after WWII was an arduous and problem-ridden process. It took years to effectively build jet engine aircraft that were easy to fly, build and maintain. The designs, materials and the performance of these aircraft have come a long way since their first inception, allowing for the incredible and highly evolved machines that we see today. In this paper we will be diving into the challenges of making the transition to jet engine aircraft as well as what we could have done differently to produce effective and capable jets sooner and more efficiently. While the era following WWII was full of innovation and creation it would be a mistake to leave out the 20 years prior. Following the First World War, people wanted to return to the more traditional lifestyle that preceded the war. “The result was two decades of meager investment in military readiness and technology” (Cantrell, 2014). This reduction of arms and move away from aviation technology and development left us struggling when WWII started to match the superiority of the German Luftwaffe. Because of this technological deficit, it was more important than ever to regain air superiority after WWII through the mastery of the jet engine. This issue can really be broken down into two parts, the necessity for redesign and reengineering of our aircraft and the problems with production/materials. Although, this breakdown does not denote how the problem was created, nor how it could be solved. The problem with our designs was severe; the designs that worked with prop-driven aircraft simply were not good enough. Aviation as we knew had to be rethought, redesigned and retested. The road to understanding and mastering this new technology was not without the loss of life. The addition of “new aerodynamic factors, new degrees of stress, and new forces with which propeller-driven aircraft previously had not had to contend, most notably the sound

developing the product, the manufacturers or even the suppliers of the materials. While they may have contributed to the problem, they were not the source. Our 20-year hiatus from rigorous research and development, our period of “peacetime” caused the problems that plagued the aviation industry. Due to the nature of the problem, there is truly only one way to prevent it, so there will not be a second alternative presented. In order to combat the lull in production and our engineers’ woes with mastering the jet-engine, we should not have taken that 20-year break. Instead, we should have focused even more heavily on technological development than we were during the war. The advantages to this strategy are simple; we stay ready for the next technological race by being vigilant now. Through this, our production facilities would be up to snuff, our engineers would have been better prepared and our material shortage could have been avoided. The disadvantage would be the constant wartime mentality that comes with staying ready. We would not have been able to achieve that “peaceful” world everyone wanted following WWII. To some, that tradeoff might not worth being militarily ready. All in all, we cannot allow ourselves to fall behind in the same way again. One day we may face the same problem. Our enemies could develop something revolutionary that changes the world and then question becomes; how long do we want to take before we have the same capability? Will we be ready to fill that gap? By staying vigilant we can ensure we won’t be far behind.

References Cantrell, J. (2014, December 16). Commentary | End of WWII Model Shakes Up Aerospace Industry. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from http://spacenews.com/37245end-of-wwii- model-shakes-up-aerospace-industry/ Guttman, J. (2016, September 23). Defining The Jet. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from http://www.historynet.com/defining-the-jet-january-98-aviation-history-feature.htm