Initializing array elements on a static initialization block

Question

Hello,
I have this class:
class Foo{
    public static Wing[] flights = new Wing[20]; //initialize with null Wing references
    static { //static initialization block - begin
        for(Wing w : flights){ //for each Wing slot on the array,
            w = new Wing();      //create a Wing object and refer to it
        } // static init block - endThe code above creates a Wing array, and the static init block should create 20 Wing objects on the array slots, but the objects are lost when I try to use it in the main method on the same class Foo:
    public static void main(String[] args){
         System.out.println(flights[3].name); //will throw NullPointerException -> Array elements have not been initialized  
    }How is that possible? The init code for(Wing w : flights) looks like has created copies of the objects, and not just references to the same object. If I change the static init block to the "old-fashioned for loop"
for (int i=0; i < flights.length; i++){
flights[i] = new Wing();then it works.
But I think that the problem is not on the kind of for loop itself, because if I use same static initialization statement, with for (Wing w : flights) on the main method, instead of in a separate init block, the array gets populated with solid objects.
Any ideas of what I am doing wrong?
Java version: 5.0

Answer 1

I think I got it. I am reseting the reference to point to a new Object in the heap instead of the array slot. :-P