ABSTRACT
In the last 50 years technological innovation in air transport has far outstripped that in any other transport mode. The only comparable innovations elsewhere have been the emergence of the supertankers in shipping and the development of high-speed trains, though the impact of the latter is still only marginal. Innovation in aviation has centred on the development of the jet engine for civil use, first in a turbo propeller form and later as a pure jet. Successive developments in the jet engine have consistently improved its efficiency and propulsive power. The emergence of larger and more powerful engines in association with improvements in airframe design and in control systems has resulted in successive improvements in aircraft speed and size. Higher speeds and larger aircraft have in turn produced significant jumps in aircraft productivity. This is evident in Table 1.1. Even in the era of the piston engine, dramatic improvements were made, so that the hourly productivity of the Super Constellation was seven times greater than that of the Douglas DC-3. The early turbo-prop aircraft also significantly improved productivity. Though the Viscount’s productivity was less than that of the Super Constellation, as a DC-3 replacement the Viscount’s productivity was four times as great. Likewise, the Britannias were a significant improvement on the Super Constellations they were meant to replace.
