Most successfully innovative aviation firm?

[Ayahuasca]

If success is defined by longevity of type, variety of aircraft built and innovative aircraft design, can any aviation firm beat Lockheed?

Some examples -

P38 lightning - innovative twin boom design, one of WWII's most successful fighters.

C-130 hercules - flying less than a decade after WWII, still flying now.

Starlifter - like a Herc, but bigger and quicker

Galaxy - even bigger

Constellation - innovative triple tail, one of the first long distance airliners

F104 starfighter, daft wings or no, the epitome of a point interceptor.

U2 spyplane - older than methuselah, still doing its stuff

SR71 and family - nothing need be said

Shooting Star - USA's first jet fighter

F-117 - first operational stealth fighter (yes it was really a bomber but still)

F-22 raptor - best fighter of all time, if you have the means?


Has there been a comparably successful aircraft designer / manufacturer?

[belleair302]

Boeing must come close from B29's to Dreamliners. Military and commercial arms.

[Brother D]

Rutan/Scaled Composites? They have some pretty outrageous designs

[Ayahuasca]

Brother D said:

Rutan/Scaled Composites? They have some pretty outrageous designs

Yes, innovative designs - but none tested over decades in military or commercial applications, as far as I know.

[Evolved]

Lockheed nail it IMO, the others are just run of the mill in comparison.

Blackbird - thread closed.

[Eric Mc]

It's a toss up between Lockheed and North American Aviation. NA not only built fantastic aeroplanes, they were also massively important in the world of space research as well -

some examples of great NA aircraft and spacecraft -

Harvard
B-25 Mitchell
Mustang
Sabre
Super Sabre
Sabreliner
Vigilante
X-15
XB-70 Valkyrie
Apollo Command/Service Module
Space Shuttle Orbiter
B-1 Lancer

[Tango13]

Ayahuasca said:

If success is defined by longevity of type, variety of aircraft built and innovative aircraft design, can any aviation firm beat Lockheed?

Some examples -

P38 lightning - innovative twin boom design, one of WWII's most successful fighters.

C-130 hercules - flying less than a decade after WWII, still flying now.

Starlifter - like a Herc, but bigger and quicker

Galaxy - even bigger

Constellation - innovative triple tail, one of the first long distance airliners

F104 starfighter, daft wings or no, the epitome of a point interceptor.

U2 spyplane - older than methuselah, still doing its stuff

SR71 and family - nothing need be said

Shooting Star - USA's first jet fighter

F-117 - first operational stealth fighter (yes it was really a bomber but still)

F-22 raptor - best fighter of all time, if you have the means?


Has there been a comparably successful aircraft designer / manufacturer?

That's only half the story though, everything you've listed happened after the Gross brothers bought the company after it went tits up in 1929.

Prior to that they pioneered plywood monocoques long before DeHavilland thought about about the Mosquito, it was one of their aircraft that was probably the first to encounter a jetstream too.

They also gave some bloke by the name of Jack Northrop his start in the aviation industry, wonder what ever happened to him...

Malcolm Loughead changed his name phonetically to Lockheed and went on to develop a four wheel hydraulic braking system for cars, a company called Automotive Products manufactured parts for Lockheed and sold the products as AP Lockheed...

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

Ayahuasca said:

C-130 hercules - flying less than a decade after WWII, still flying now.

Starlifter - like a Herc, but bigger and quicker

What most people don't realise is that the C-141 fuselage was (mainly) built on jigs identical to the C-130.