Builders and Designers Adjust to Aviation’s Changing Needs
Gone are the days of V-shaped runways, quonset huts and complacency, replaced now by parallel runways, plugged-in terminals and uncertainty. Since the first flight by the Wright Brothers a century ago, aviation has evolved from early feats of daring to a multibillion-dollar industry that has relied on equally great feats of engineering and architecture to capture first the imagination and then the expectations of the traveling public.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent recession shook the industry and redefined expectations. Airport improvement projects stalled as security requirements took precedence. Major carriers teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. People were afraid to fly.