Document Type: Presentation (Industry).

Purpose: Informational.

Authority: Author Expertise.

Scope: 20th Wings Club General Harold R. Harris "Sight" Lecture, presented on June 15, 1983 at the Wings Club, New York City by Willis M. Hawkins, retired Senior Vice President for Aircraft, the Lockheed Corporation and a leading aeronautical engineer from the late 1930s through the 1980s.

Contents (from the Introduction): "As I look at the Aerospace Industry today, I'm persuaded that its foundation is still, clearly, the state of its technology and that above all else the industry's future depends on how energetically we use this fund of knowledge to produce new products. The economy of the industry and that of the country demands that we exercise our technical expertise and continue to renew the research base from which we will build future systems. Our nation's defense strength likewise must be continually renewed from the growth of our technological bank. It should be recognized that this account is made strong by not only the research done, but by the developments attempted and those converted to operational products.

Today, we have powerful technological momentum. I am proud of it and. if we use it, I have no concerns. The environment to use our technological resources, however, isn't good. It is my purpose in this discussion to look back and note some of the lessons we should have learned from past successes and failures, and to show that we have benefitted from an enlightened partnership between industry and government. I'll also single out examples of seeds that have been sown with government help and show how we have harvested them.

I hope that it will be clear to you when the discussion is over that we have the potential for many exciting and profitable endeavors — we are far from the end of our technologies — and we need to change some habits to reap this promise."