How a WW2 plane inspired the design of the collapsible baby buggy
“Great ideas can come from anywhere. There are no titles around an idea.”
What do a WW2 Supermarine Spitfire and a baby buggy have in common?
More than you might think.
In the 1930s, for an aircraft to reach high speeds, it needed to reduce drag. The solution was the retractable undercarriage. The wheels needed to fold neatly into the fuselage to allow the air to pass uninterrupted.
It was a complex piece of engineering, and the folding mechanism for the Spitfire was perfected by a talented engineer named Owen Finlay Maclaren.
Fast forward to 1965. Maclaren, now retired, had a visit from his daughter and first grandchild.
He watched as she struggled to lug her pram onto a plane.
In those days, pushchairs were not designed for travel; they were heavy and cumbersome.
Drawing on his experience with the Spitfire, Maclaren realised that if he could fold a heavy landing gear into a relatively small space, he could do the same for a chair.
With further refinement, he developed his phenomenally successful folding buggy, which used lightweight aluminium tubing and a mechanism similar to that in the aircraft’s folding wheels.
Maclaren’s story is a perfect example of cross-pollination, the act of taking a solution from one industry and applying it to another.
The design of the screw in lightbulb came from one of Thomas Edison’s assistants who witnessed his boss cleaning his hands with turpentine.
When the master inventor twisted off the top of the metal can, the idea of a screw-in lamp base was born.
Mother Nature has also been a great source of ideas.
For example, the inspiration for Velcro came from observing how burrs attach to a dog’s coat.
And the hydrophobic properties of the Lotus leaf led to the design of a water-repelling paint.
So the next time you’re stuck coming up with something new, take a look at the innovation happening in industries outside of your own.
You might find a clue to your next big idea.
If you’re interested in ideas and innovation then you might enjoy our Creative Thinking and Innovation courses which are packed full of practical tools and tips to help you create the next big thing.
