Among the handful of aerospace companies to emerge from World War II, North American Aviation (later the Aircraft Division of Rockwell International. Corp.) soon became one of the pioneering leaders of the burgeoning aircraft industry. Other prominent American companies were Lockheed Aircraft, Grumman Aircraft, etc. But after graduating from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, Class of ’43 (3.93 GPA, All Departments Honor Man), I was offered and accepted a position as Stress Analyst “B” by North American. ($1.01 per hour) at its Los Angeles plant.
During the last years of World War II, North American had produced the P-51 Mustang fighter plane for England; its superior speed and performance quickly achieved a 10:1 kill ratio over German fighters; Then, a short time later, NAA produced the first fighter jet, the F-86. Working together with the other specialty Engineering groups: Aerodynamics, Thermodynamics, Load Analysis, Dynamics, etc., and constantly focusing on increasing performance and reducing weight, the Design, Stress, and Materials/Process groups began to investigate the minimization of structural weight through higher strength to density materials (aluminium, steel, magnesium, titanium) and more efficient structural concepts (for example, sandwich configurations). Furthering NAA’s group-team optimization approach, the US Aerospace Technology Conferences, featuring technological advances in all fields, were held with enthusiastic NAA participation. (In my 10th year, I earned a Master’s, Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of Southern California, night school; over the years, I’ve also gained position advancements; my title now was Head of Structural Science.)
A noteworthy achievement on the part of North America had been the first aircraft to reach supersonic speed, the Mach 1 F-100. Out of that technology soon emerged the first supersonic trainer aircraft, the T-28. (Note: An interesting personal anecdote developed out of that program: a major mishap had occurred during the machining of the lower main spar cap, which carries the largest load on the aircraft. As Head of Structures, he had approved the repair Months later, the Chief Engineer called me, “Remember that T-28 mast-cap joint you authorized—well, there’s an Air Force captain who says he wants the damn engineer who authorized it to sit down.” in front of him as he maxes out Gs. He waited a few seconds, then added, “I hope you’re sure of your analysis: he’s going to fly to your airfield tomorrow morning!”
It was exciting but it worked out well: there was a jeep and two soldiers waiting for me when my plane landed; They immediately took me to the airfield; a no-nonsense 25-year-old captain shook my hand, murmured a greeting, had his men strap a parachute over my business suit; and he helped me get on the T-28. He made a joke: “You know you are trusting your analysis with your life!” (Note: Mach 1 was exciting, as was the G max draw. Spar cap repair and wing held up. We landed safely. Captain bought me a drink.)
In the aftermath of World War II and its eventual emphasis on nuclear bombs, the US Department of Defense decided to extend its nuclear range using the US Navy. It solicited proposals to build a medium bomber, capable of being catapulted and arrest -hook landed on an aircraft carrier – while carrying an atomic bomb. Several months later he called me to tell me that we had won. “Oh, by the way,” he added, “Get ready, your friends will tell you that the FBI has been asking some very personal questions about you!” An instant later, he explained, “You and I are going to get ‘Q clearances’ to go with our top secret: If the NAA is going to build a bomber that carries the atomic bomb, someone has to tell us how much it weighs and where.” to catch it!”
While the X-15’s hypersonic performance greatly dwarfed the B-70’s Mach 3 in speed and altitude, it was NAA’s B-70 technology that had a major impact on my later career. On the international commercial aviation scene, England and France had decided to pool their aerospace technologies and finances – to outdo the US – and build a Mach 2 commercial jet aircraft, the Concorde. Unfortunately for the program, a failure had occurred, the stern motor and thrust reverse structure. Although it was a setback for France and England, there were businessmen who took risks, however, who saw it as an opportunity. One such person was Leopold S. Wyler, CEO of a small but successful New York Stock Exchange company (TRE Corp.) that produced lock hardware for homes, and with a small division with a patented aerospace-type structural sandwich. ; Raised in France but with a solid knowledge of NAA’s B-70, he made two separate but contingent offers: – the first was to the French and British – that his company would finance a redesign and build a structural test unit, which – if he met the weight and performance targets, he would win the production contract for those Concorde structures for him. His second offer was to me (he had had his president of Stresskin Div. find out who had been in charge of the B-70 structure). The offer was to hire me and a dozen of my NAA B-70 engineers; give us a 30% raise to leave NAA and join it, if we could produce a test unit in a year. Remarkably, looking back, it all came together: the dozen NAAs joined me (they all moved to Orange County); Wyler built a big new plant; we ended up hiring a lot more former NAA associates, and we produced all of the Concorde production structures.
Like my “end-of-career” involvement with Concorde a dozen years earlier, my “end-of-career” involvement with NASA’s Space Shuttle Program was initiated by a memory of American aviation: it was the voice still remembered from my former NAA senior program manager, Charlie XXXX, now president of Rockwell’s space division. “I need you, or someone like you, in my transportation program. Come tomorrow, I’ll give you a job.” (See ezine article: “NASA’s Space Shuttle Secret – Painstaking Pursuit of Perfection – Tiles!”)
I saw Charlie the next day, he offered me and I accepted the position of Assistant Chief Engineer. for the Space Shuttle Program at Rockwell’s Space Division. Always wanting to be a part of a NASA space project, I found the long hours, the frequent travel, very rewarding. Finally, NASA made the first FRR (Flight Readiness Review) flight. I was very pleased when NASA had me submit the detailed report to the Administrator (NASA’s top official, who reports to the US President). After three successful flights and three years, I left the program and NAA Rockwell, and returned to the Wyler TRE. In 1982, I was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal and Award.
