The coronavirus pandemic is leading to shortages of more than test kits, ventilators and, um, toilet paper. Due to the huge increase in demand for hand sanitizer, there is a now shortage of isopropyl alcohol—a key ingredient in some fluxes.

The news about the 737 MAX has got me thinking about my own experience with the aerospace industry. There’s something cultural about the avionics and aerospace industries, the Defense Department and the FAA; they are impervious to ideas. The status quo cannot be unseated.