Recent Developments in Aviation and Aerospace Medicine

Abstract

IN THE HISTORY of the world's industrial development, no, industry has grown more rapidly than aviation except numerical computation by electronic means. In 1903 the Wright brothers flew the first powered aircraft. By 1912 the first commercial airline, KLM, was operating between London and Amsterdam twice a week. In 1960, a total of 60 million tickets were sold to more than 10 million passengers who flew on U.S. owned and operated aircraft alone; the business air fleet far exceeded in numbers the entire U.S. Air Force, and the combined commercial and business fleets were fewer in numbers than the aircraft privately owned and operated for pleasure. In October 1957 exploration of extraterrestrial space within our solar system became a reality. Only 4 years later, orbital traffic control is needed and man has gone into outer space and survived. Aerial mapping and surveying have almost outmoded the civil engineer surveyor. More than 4,000 companies seed, fertilize, and disinfect our crops. Forestry is dependent on avia,tionl for both disease control and fire control, and few major airports can ke,ep up with traffic growth. Every one of these situations has inherent medical problems. The study of these was called aviation meidicine in the 1930-58 period and is now called aerospace medicine.