[charles m]

is producing something that other countries have been making for 50 years really all that big of an accomplishment?

50 years isn't very long in the whole scheme of things though. It's shorter than one lifetime. The US was behind England's industrial revolution by at least 50 years, and look where we are today.

[vigilence]

But look at 50 years of aviation history and we go from Kitty Hawk to the first F-4’s.