HISTORY OF FLIGHT—LOENING 357 
Actually, vertical lift capability means a much lighter landing gear, 
which might almost revert 57 years to the Wright skids, leading to 
an aircraft with practically no landing gear at all except little rollers 
to push it around the ramp. Thus the weight of the extra jet engines 
that are needed for the vertical operation could be compensated for 
and would represent no more of a burden to the aircraft than did the 
landing gear. Originally, this represented 6 to 10 percent of the 
empty weight of the aircraft, was used only for a short while on 
landing and takeoff, and was carried neatly folded in precious room in 
the body for thousands of miles during which time it was utterly 
useless. On the other hand, the extra jet engines could, in an emer- 
gency, be used if the other powerplants failed, or for quicker climb. 
And with the ability to rise vertically and fly fast, the liftplane in 
smaller sizes, if not too noisy, would at last penetrate the open and 
fertile field of private vehicle aircraft, which has hardly even been 
touched, although we now lead the world in this field. 
When we come to the future supersonic transport with speeds up 
to 2,000 m.p.h., where more thrust from the engines will be needed 
than the whole weight of the aircraft, their design could begin now 
with a VTOL configuration. When we contemplate many different 
designs of aircraft for vertical lift and high speed, we find that the 
gas generator (the jet-engine powerplant) will most likely become 
a very intimate part of the wing. In fact, the final requirement of 
the gas generator is for a forced lift flow around the wing, including 
boundary layer control. For the slow-speed regime, a large volume 
of air moving more slowly (400 m.p.h. or so) is used and then re- 
placed, when once up in the air, by a suitable change in ducting to 
the high-speed “thrust” flow that we use today over a small cross 
section for fast aircraft. The wing then may well become the crank- 
case of the engine! 
In 1926 Henry Ford, Sr., visited an aircraft show in Detroit. As he 
was leaving, he turned and looked over the planes and said, with 
his usual finality and quickness: “Let me tell you, these things will 
never amount to anything until they use their power to land with!” 
History will show that he was right. 
OTHER LESSONS 
Many other lessons are to be Jearned from the numerous aspects of 
our broad aeronautical field. The Zeppelin airship had its great value 
in bringing us Duralumin. Developed originally in Germany, with 
a courageous persistence through many discouragements, and with 
later developments in England and America, the large rigid-struc- 
ture dirigible airship did not survive, even after helium made it 
really safe. The reason was not structural. It had only one dis- 
advantage—it was too slow. And the lesson is this: In air logistics, 
