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Some of these are te standard issue delays and cost overruns. Look at the A380 sill no where break even and like the Concorde another massive achievement but again forged on with pride winning over ongoing losses of constant millions of dollars. Others are a lesson learn't the hard way and some were excellent innovation before their time. Look at the millions of diesel cars, quiet efficient and powerful. Next is hydrogen - yes safer then aviation fuel but "who wants that around".
Regarding the remarks concerning 1972 award to 7th AIR FORCE AND 8TH AIR FORCE, are the Flying editors seem a little rusty on their history. The U.S. left South Vietnam secure in 1972. South Vietnam fell to communists in 1975 when the Ford administration chose not to honor our treaty commitments. The Air Force, and the rest of the military, did its job. The politicians did not.
I have read flying since 1956 -
Observation on some of the ideas.
#2 Diesel engine - Packard then, Germany's war diesels, Diesels on Jet A now.
#3 Autogyro - Pitcarin then, James Bond 1970's, small autogyros now. Short take off run.
#4 Operation Linebacker II. The sorrow of the Vietnam War - All wars. 68,000 dead men.
My neighbor down the street and good man died of agent orange cancer. Terrible.
A guy, and good person I work for, lost 6 of his platoon in a fire fight
and lived to tell about it.
My Dad - Old Navy doctor, WWII. Cussing in disgust, suggested pulling up a Trident Nuclear Submarine, and coming down the Ho Chi Min trail, with some small tactical nuclear
war heads, that would put in a buffer zone, that the north would not cross.
30 years latter I rented to college boys (here in US) from Hanio. Their daddy's were bankers in Hanio, all cash, and they had more money than I did.
#5 Ducted turboprops. A savings of 10, 20, 30% fuel usage. Build 4 to 10 of them and see how
fuel efficient then can get. Might make some more noise, but could be quieted.
Actually, probably around 2 million people were killed across Indochina in that war. "Only" 58,000 of them were Americans. And what did Operation Linebacker accomplish? Ask the ghost of Richard Nixon. South Vietnam inevitably ceased to exist and the US today is happily trading with the conflict's victors.
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