Re: Why do we always re-engineer our aircraft??
Aren't pr00ne's posts amusing - he makes 'Comical Ali' seem almost convincing!
OK - so, for example, the V-bombers were not a 'commercial' success, but at the time of the 'Golden Age' you sneer at, they were cutting edge designs produced as a rsult of national will. Both political parties supported them, incdentally. I imagine that the manufacturers of all those Meteors, Vampires and Venoms did, however, consider them to be pretty successful.
It was only in the age of meddling post-Sandys politicians and spineless leadership that the UK stopped most of its major design programmes.
Hamburg turns out Airbus narrow bodies like a sausage (or Bratwurst) machine - heaven knows why BWoS turned down the task. Indeed, if they'd pushed harder, perhaps the RAF wouldn't still be flying knackered old VC10s and TriShaws but would have been flying 21st century A310 multi-role transport tanker aircraft for around 5 years by now....