Regional airliner were replaced by progressively longer-range designs. In the immediate post-war era these were typically Douglas DC-3s, although even the De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane airliner remained in service for some time. This "hand-me-down" process of supplying aircraft continued with designs like the Convair 440, Douglas DC-6 and Vickers Viscount also serving in this role while the first jets were introduced. By the mid-1950s, demand for even more economical designs led to the production of the first custom feederliners. These were almost always turboprops, which had fuel economy on par with piston engine designs, but had far lower maintenance costs. Often
South East England Instruments of Byfleet developed the world's first multi-channel flight data recorders in 1965. Although the Comet is generally accepted as the world's first production-run jet airliner, the first jet airliner ever built (individual) was a Nene-powered Vickers VC.1 Viking on 6 April 1948 from Wisley Airfield; the world's first turboprop airliner would fly from there on 16 July 1948 by Mutt Summers. In 1939 at Cowes (Northwood) John Godeck invented the plan position indicator method of radar display as most commonly known ever since; the site became Plessey Radar in 1965, and currently is run by BAE Systems. Sperry Gyroscope