Hello and welcome to your October edition of Airliner World. This month, we're exploring the future generation of flight, but not before we reflect on one of aviation's most important names. Scattered throughout this special issue, we have three very different insights into the work of the Douglas Aircraft Company –a firm that would have been marking its centenary this year. While there are dozens of fascinating businesses that were founded in the boom years of the early 1920s, few had the cut-through, courage and charisma to shape the fledging aviation industry quite like Douglas. Through merger and acquisitions, it is no longer the household name it once was, but scrape the surface of today's Boeing models and many of the rich hallmarks of its pioneering spirit are plain – or plane – to see!
Having paid tribute to the Douglas dynasty, we're balancing this edition with a special guide for those who could be considering a career in the cockpit. While it might seem like a ludicrous time to be entering a sector that continues to struggle from the fallout from the pandemic, a look at the industry forecasts suggests a different story. Most, if not all, analysts are expecting a return to pre-crisis levels by 2024, with a significant chunk of traffic returning to the skies by the end of next year. Every aviation shock in modern history – from the Gulf War to 9/11 – has resulted in pilots leaving the industry for good, either through expedited retirement or redundancy. As one airline executive told me recently: "It's like a shaking an apple tree – the question is how many apples fall off and roll down the hill, and how many you can pick back up."