We built a jet airplane to get in and out of a 5,000-ft field. No one believed it could be done.

. . . It wasn't until the jet engine came into being and that engine was coupled with special airplane designs - such as the swept wing - that airplanes finally achieved a high enough work capability, efficiency and comfort level to allow air transportation to really take off.

At the start of any program, asking questions is the most important part of the process. If you get [the customer's] requirements wrong, then you don't have a successful product.

We built a jet airplane to get in and out of a 5,000-ft field. No one believed it could be done.