The aviation industry -industrie nowadays I suppose was not alone in failing to adapt toa new world post WW2, not immediately after but in the 50s and 60s. I ean back in the dayw e had
Shipbuilding and a big Merchant Navy but obsolete and non expandable yards often on waters too small for modern ships and hemmed in by houses
Huge railway system and manufacture- but making coal fired locos when the world had gone electric or diesel. Govt again pushing for use of ineficient coal just because we had alot of it
Car industry large but very fragmented, how many companies before rationalization, then literally inventing the prototype modern FWD car with he mini 1100 /1300 dominates all designs today miss the opportunity to build on that success and see Japan Germany and France rule the automotice world (US being isilationsit in this respect). We still make some quality vehicles but all the companies are foreign owned.
Aviation , well we gave up on final assembly years ago but surely the Airbus (also now foreign owned) wing factoroes and relatd development are genuinely gutting edge and massively succesful . Rools royce too but they seem to be facing diffcult times.
So overall perhaps the aircraft industry ahas survived Uks industrial demise beter than other sectors as it leaned to globalise and cooperate rather thang on to amn Imperial past