Three Points

With Eviation's maiden flight fast approaching, the Washington state aerospace cluster is evolving as it becomes a focal point for green aviation aspirants and increasingly untethered from the enormous industrial gravity created by Boeing. Before the eVTOL gold rush took shape, the National Research Council in 2014 explored how autonomy could transform aviation, but with a sober and realistic view on making it possible. Its findings are even more relevant in 2022. Since 1969, only 13 western twin-aisle aircraft types have been certified by just four manufacturers. We visualized the production history of each one and the more than 9,500 that have been delivered to the world's airlines. The data illustrates the story more than a half century of unimaginable successes, stark failures and an incredible boom and bust.