"AE" whilst I agree we have come a long way in 50 yrs (medicine etc) but not really that far in aviation. Sure the motive force has changed by way of reliability & power output but the power plants are still fossil fuel burning devices so in actual fact we have changed nothing in that sector of air travel. As for A/C design? Well sure they have changed from two wings to one wing mainly the biggest change with modern methods of assembly etc but these days the machines are just the same as the old ones. They still require fwd motion over an aerofoil to create lift so in essence we have progressed very little since the Wright Bros started it all off
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Okay I know some will say what drugs I am on but in a nut shell we still fly subsonic (commercially mostly) in the lower levels of the earths atmosphere in machines that are driven by man that require the same fuel as a 100 yrs ago (fossil) still need a rwy & still get effected by the WX & can still fall out of the sky despite all the CRM rubbish, the Modern technology & expert training.
The next 50 years as you wonder?...........well prolly won't have achieved much more at all other than ruin what was once an exciting prosperous industry.
But as for yr paintings? Well they will live on in museums with small boys & girls in the distant future saying to their parents whilst looking at them............daddy that machine they called way back then the PC12 why does it only have one antiquated engine??, wasn't that dangerous?
Wmk2