Air transport is one area where technology has seemingly stagnated, or even reversed. Airliners seem pretty much the same as when I was a kid. You certainly don't get to your destination any faster. There have been improvements -- aircraft such as the 787 are built with light and strong composites; the A380 is the biggest airliner ever; low cost carriers have driven down prices; you can get WiFi on certain flights. But you're not going any faster, or traveling any more comfortably.
Compare that to the period from 1955 - 1975. Jets entered commercial service, displacing slow and noisy gas-powered propeller planes. The Concorde made its first flight in 1969, entering service shortly after. The US had its own supersonic airliners on the drawing board. There were even proposals for hypersonic transports. We ended up getting stuck with cosmetically identical jetliners and a series of unmanned hypersonic test vehicles. Remarkable feats like SpaceShipOne are few and far between.
Aerospace technology relies on inspiration. "Because we can" used to be a large motivator. It's tough to get around economic or military reality, but at the same time it's sad to see fewer mind-blowing engineering achievements. Most of us couldn't afford a Concorde ticket, but I bet there were plenty of people who still thought it was damn cool.
Compare that to the period from 1955 - 1975. Jets entered commercial service, displacing slow and noisy gas-powered propeller planes. The Concorde made its first flight in 1969, entering service shortly after. The US had its own supersonic airliners on the drawing board. There were even proposals for hypersonic transports. We ended up getting stuck with cosmetically identical jetliners and a series of unmanned hypersonic test vehicles. Remarkable feats like SpaceShipOne are few and far between.
Aerospace technology relies on inspiration. "Because we can" used to be a large motivator. It's tough to get around economic or military reality, but at the same time it's sad to see fewer mind-blowing engineering achievements. Most of us couldn't afford a Concorde ticket, but I bet there were plenty of people who still thought it was damn cool.