Description should include the effects of war as context and impetus for technological advancement:
- Enhances the survivability of aircraft and personnel (e.g., drone technology)
- Creates aircraft technology allowing aircraft to fly faster, farther, and more safely
- Substantially increases funding for the development of new technologies
- Allows modifications to be rapidly field-tested, studied, and improved
- Spurs creativity and engineering by pooling resources from independent organizations and efficiently delegating authority in pursuit of a nationally unified outcome
- Creates surplus of postwar aviation equipment to be repurposed for the civil aviation market
Description should also include developments such as
- airport infrastructure
- aircraft carriers and condensed field operations
- jet and turbine propulsion.
Process/Skill Questions:
- How did WWI result in the creation of airports?
- How did WWI influence the U.S. investment in aviation?
- How has air power changed the face of modern warfare?
- Who was General Billy Mitchell, and how did he improve air power during WWII?
- Who was Glenn Curtiss?
- What improvements in aviation technology took place because of WWII?
- What aircraft design characteristics can be identified based on cultural differences among countries?
- How did the development of radar help the Allies in WWII?
- How has aerospace technology developed for war benefited civil aviation?
- How does a human-powered aircraft (e.g., the Gossamer Condor) advance aviation technology?