I think the average person(here everyone is above average
)underestimates the engineering that went into the AC of this era, thinking of them as being slapped together with nails and bailing wire. Considering the materials,as well as powerplants, available at the time I feel they are quite impressive. However, engineers do make mistakes or bad decisions or even poor compromises on occasion(Ever take a close look at a picture of a DC-10 in flight?).