He was one who pointed out to the Admiralty that THEIR airship, the R101, was far too heavy. They, like most bureaucracies, refused to listen. When they finally realised he was right their answer was to graft in another major section of gas envelope. The ensuing disaster and loss of life ended the British airship enterprise. This was sad for Shute ( OK, Norway ) because the ship he was involved with, the R100, was a success. The Airspeed thing came after that, of course, and aviation is better for it. His designs were beautiful and simple.
A very gifted man, who has given me some joy with his well written characters, and simple but brilliant stories.
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