Ken Wallis Autogyro Pioneer Dies At 97 49
First time accepted submitter gb7djk writes "Wing Commander Ken Wallis the developer and promoter of small autogyros died peacefully today 4th September, aged 97, at his home in Norfolk. Ken is mainly remembered for 'Little Nellie', the tooled up autogyro that took on some helicopters in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. He made the breakthrough discovery of the offset rotor head that made autogyros stable as well as many other aviation inventions. More info here and a video of him flying one of his creations (at the age of 95)."
Re:Autogyros (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah - because all of the new tech just sprang into existence via parthenogenesis, right? None of it has its roots in old school tech, after all. Then again, I can see where you wouldn't be impressed with a heavier-than-air flying machine that can transport a person significant distances at reasonably high speeds, or the kind of man who could invent one. I think, however, you will be in something of a minority around here.
Luddite.
Re:And this was before safety (Score:2, Insightful)
I've got a great-great-grandfather who founded a pharmaceutical company. And there are stories of how he would brew up the growth media for the pathogens to make his vaccines at home on the kitchen stove. Fast forward to the present and I've been spending the last few months trying to sort through all kinds of bureacracy and regulations to get some exome sequencing for a newphew with a genetic condition. One one hand, even just the fact that I can send a DNA saliva sample halfway around the world overnight would be mindblowing in my great-great-grandfather's day. But on the other hand, I doubt he had to spend days and days figuring out the relevant rules and regulations and forms and bureaucracy to actually be allowed to do something as simple as sending a a few mL of saliva through the mail.
I have the sense that we are increasingly living in a society where the limitations and obstacles we face are bureaucratic rather than technical.