Spring 2004 The BRIDGE LINKING ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY Remembering the Legacy: Highlights of the First 100 Years of Aviation Richard P. Hallion Building on the Legacy: A Vision for the Future Robert S. Walker The Role of Size in the Future of Aeronautics Alan H. Epstein Technology and the F-16 Fighting Falcon Jet Fighter Harry J. Hillaker The Evolution of Military Aviation Michael A. Clarke Promoting the technological welfare of the nation by marshalling the knowledge and insights of eminent members of the engineering profession. The BRIDGE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING George M.C. Fisher, Chair Wm. A. Wulf, President Sheila E. Widnall, Vice President W. Dale Compton, Home Secretary George Bugliarello, Foreign Secretary William L. Friend, Treasurer Editor-in-Chief George Bugliarello (Interim) Managing Editor: Carol R. Arenberg Production Assistants: Penelope Gibbs, Kimberly West The Bridge (USPS 551-240) is published quarterly by the National Academy of Engineering, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. Vol. 34, No. 1 Spring 2004 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Bridge, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418. Papers are presented in The Bridge on the basis of general interest and time- liness. They reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily the position of the National Academy of Engineering. The Bridge is printed on recycled paper. © 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. A complete copy of each issue of The Bridge is available in PDF format at http://www.nae.edu/TheBridge. Some of the articles in this issue are also available as HTML documents and may contain links to related sources of information, multimedia files, or other content. The Volume 34, Number 1 • Spring 2004 BRIDGE LINKING ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY Editor’s Note 3 Centennial of Aviation C. Dan Mote Jr. Features 5 Remembering the Legacy: Highlights of the First 100 Years of Aviation Richard P. Hallion We must commit ourselves to remaining an aerospace nation and to reinvigorating the aerospace industry. 12 Building on the Legacy: A Vision for the Future Robert S. Walker Technology development in hypersonics could remap the future. 17 The Role of Size in the Future of Aeronautics Alan H. Epstein Once aircraft no longer required human operators, they could be made much smaller. 24 Technology and the F-16 Fighting Falcon Jet Fighter Harry J. Hillaker The judicious application of advanced technologies and design innovations gave the F-16 unprecedented performance capabilities at an affordable cost. 29 The Evolution of Military Aviation Michael A. Clarke In the twenty-first century, we will see the dawn of the space fleet. NAE News and Notes 36 NAE Newsmakers 37 Class of 2004 Elected 42 Message from the Home Secretary 43 2003 Private Contributions 48 NAE Senior Scholar-in-Residence 49 Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium 50 Calendar of Meetings and Events (continued on next page) The BRIDGE 51 Marian Koshland Science Museum 52 In Memoriam The National Academies Update 53 Program to Improve Roadway Safety and Efficiency 53 Improving NSF’s Ranking of Proposals and Project Management 54 Publications of Interest The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self- The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the author- to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility ity of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional char- has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on ter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, The National Research Council was organized by the National under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its adminis- science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering tration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal gov- accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the ernment. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engi- Council has become the principal operating agency of both the neering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages edu- National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engi- cation and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of neering in providing services to the government, the public, and the engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered of Engineering. jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org 3 Editor’s Note Centennial of Aviation Ever think about a 4-mm gas turbine that can deliver 60 watts of power at a few million revolutions per December 17, 2003, at minute? Payloads for these aircraft typically include 10:35 a.m. marked the cen- cameras, sensors, and communication systems, making tennial of the first powered, them useful for security, military, environmental, and controlled, heavier-than-air commercial applications. Very exciting stuff. flight by the Wright brothers. Meyer Benzakein, an engineer from General Electric This milestone in aerospace and NAE member, addressed the topic of propulsion, history calls for both reflec- specifically the progress in gas turbine performance and tion on the past and some gas turbines of the future (not included in this issue). speculation about the future He balanced strategies for incremental improvements to C. Dan Mote Jr. is president and of flight. Among the many current technology with the pursuit of new ideas to push Glenn Martin Institute Professor celebrations of that event this mature propulsion technology forward. No radi- of Engineering, University of was a half-day symposium at cally new propulsion system was on his current horizon. Maryland, College Park, and an the 2003 NAE winter meet- Daniel Mooney, a builder at Boeing, presented the NAE member. ing that brought together next-generation design for commercial aircraft and dis- an extraordinary panel of cussed innovations in engineering and manufacturing experts whose presentations gripped the audience that (not included in this issue). And, although much packed the Academy auditorium. has changed, especially in terms of efficiency, I was Richard Hallion, former Air Force historian, reminded reminded that much has stayed the same in the aircraft us that, although the Wrights were first in flight, their lead, our national lead, was almost immediately lost to itself over recent decades. A future in commercial air- Europeans; the Wright brothers’ design was unstable craft that differs radically from today was not apparent. and difficult to fly, and they were overconfident, unsuc- This cautiousness, possibly spurred by the pragmatism cessful businessmen. As Dr. Hallion pointed out, U.S. of a mature industry, contrasted sharply with the inven- pilots flew the planes of other countries in World tions of the Wright brothers a century ago and the War I. But aided by the migration of skilled Europeans vision of the next century described by Robert Walker. after World War I, the United States regained the lead Two additional contributions on military aviation are in 1938. included in this issue. Michael Clarke of the National The futurist, Robert Walker, who led the Commission Research Council Air Force Science and Technology on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, gave an Board and a former pilot addresses innovations and indi- unvarnished, visionary, and “high rpm” view of the viduals in the history of military aviation. He also future. “Anyone, Anything, Anytime, Anywhere” is makes energetic prognostications about the future. what people aspire to in twenty-first-century air travel, Harry Hillaker, program leader of General Dynamics he told the audience. Mr. Walker envisions nanotube- and an NAE member, chronicles the development of structured hypersonic aircraft, powered by antimatter, the extremely successful F-16 Fighting Falcon. piloted by nanoprocessors, and with access to global Considered together, these presentations lay out the positioning networks that will be able to fly anywhere national aerospace problem. How do we prepare for the on the globe. These aircraft will be as accessible to the future and at the same time survive commercially today? public as general transportation networks are today. The Wright brothers failed to solve this problem That sums up what the twenty-first century will look 100 years ago, but it still has not been solved. The like in his view. recently announced national agenda to build bases on Innovator Alan Epstein of MIT, and an NAE mem- the moon in preparation for manned flight to Mars ber, reset the scale of useful aircraft downward with heightens the importance of resolving this question and examples of 50-gram, 6-inch aircraft today, 2-inch air- not allowing the United States to fall behind, as we did craft tomorrow, and possibly even smaller ones later on.