Engineering Achievements
 

Maybe this is a little off topic to a degree, not sure, but i am going to ask anyway as i dont really have a clue...

Are there any individuals in the aviation field that was inovators to more than two engineering feats? Or an aviation engineer that was sole or mainly responsible for two or more achievements?

Reason i ask is i have to compile a report on the engineering achievement of....? I need to find the of and find about what they did.

So any names that come to mind that i can do a little research on would be great. It has to be an individual though, i was going to do the wright bro's untill i found that out.

Thanks for any help...

Do a Google search for Lawrence Sperry :ok:

Thanks ASFKAP, if i run out of ideas i will come ask you about what you went through to change those two tires =)

Forget, a little more useful, i am going to google his name a few times. So far i have found he invented the Autopilot, just another few more inventions and he would be a great choice, cheers...

"Known to his fellow aviators as "Gyro," Lawrence Sperry was to many a handsome figure who might have stepped from the pages of a novel. His contributions were not in the entertainment industry, but rather in the many innovative flight instruments he constantly conceived, developed and personally tested.
Among Sperry's creations are the automatic pilot, the turn and bank indicator, the seat pack parachute and retractable landing gear. He was among the first to fly at night and regularly flew night flights for the Army in 1916. He was one of the first to make parachute jumps for fun, and at the Dayton Air Show in 1918 thrilled crowds with a bold parachute jump. One of his greatest achievements in the field of military aviation was the development of the aerial torpedo.
Sperry lost his life on December 13, 1923, attempting a flight from England to Holland when his plane "Messenger" went down in the English Channel.
Today there is no commercial, military or private airplane in the world that is not equipped with the basic flight instruments developed by Lawrence Burst Sperry.:D :D

PS. Besides his brilliant engineering talent, Lawrence Sperry was equally well know in his day for his daring hobbies and carefree lifestyle. He is considered to be the founding member of the Mile High Club.:ok:

my engineering achievements at work are best kept behind closed doors.:ok:

.... but are you a member of the mainwheel high club :E

Im going with what forget said...

However all this swapping wheels sounds fun...

Lawrence Sperry. He's the boy! Look at this - Cruise Missile --- in 1917:D

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...pas/sperry.jpg

engineer inventing things
 

try Barnes Wallis, for airships, bombs, and Wellington aircraft

R J Mitchell

Barnes Wallis

Werner von Braun

Scott Crossfield

Derek Astridge

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Arthur C Clarke (yes, the writer - he did rather more than that)

Francis Rogallo (and his wife Gertrude)

Mike Whittaker

Chris Heintz

Barnaby Wainfan

Bill Brooks

Burt Rutan.


Come to think of it, most aeronautical engineers of merit have achieved quite a few things - but these ones are reasonably easy to look up. The last 7 are still alive too and without too much trouble, contactable.

That said, if I wanted to write about one, truly fascinating overachiever (and didn't want to work too hard finding information), I'd pick either Barnes Wallis, or Scott Crossfield.

G

Sir George Cayley


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_George_Cayley

Otto Lilienthal

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/AVlilenthal.htm

Having been assembled by Dr Frankenstein from spare body parts, Igor Sikorsky went on, perhaps inevitably, to invent the helicopter. He also taught himself to fly the contraptions too - which is an achievement that outclasses even Orville and Wilbur.

Seriously though, both the Wright brothers and Sikorsky were more than engineers who invented flying machines, they were accomplished and necessarily self-taught pilots.

Then there was the RAF engineering officer who invented the jet engine because he was frightened of propellors.

Sir George Cayley is a good bet for a university dissertation. Apart from being a brilliant aeronautical engineer, he was an educationalist who founded the London Mechanics Institute, which went on to become Birkbeck - one of the founding colleges of the University of London. He was one of those Victorian intellectuals with wide ranging interests and an effective follow through, that make him a fascinating subject for a dissertation.

My achievements belong to the company.....I'm a sell out! :ugh:

Ehhhh, try Percy Pilcher. I remember seeing a documentary about him.

Mc

What about Miss Shilling's orifice?

Oi, leave Mis Schilling's more sensitive parts out of this Bus.
To quote Albert Steptoe: You dirty old man!

Engineering achievemnets? 30 years in the business now, and practically managed to achieve **** all - especially now that we are using SAP!

We used to change 4 mainwheels and top up the crew O2 on a 757 that positioned to us for the weekend from MAN. Then on Sunday night b4 it went back to MAN we would put the old wheels back on and let the O2 out! (Only joking!)

What about a man named

Barnes Wallis

Lancaster , Bouncing Bomb, etc etc

Barnes Wallis' research also led to modern golf ball technology, all those dimples arranged in certain patterns, allowing Tiger to drive the ball into orbit and me to slice it further into the bush........

:confused:

What about all those wonderful sharply dressed and "power by the hour" consultants who tell us how to improve our productivity (They may not know much about aviation but they got an MBA so they can charge a company loads of money for a report telling what the tow truck driver could tell management,if higher ups would just ask. But the MBAers use nicer language, straight out of Dilbert. MBA = Major Bull:mad: Artist).
Lets not forget the people who make up mission statements and design/change logo's so that avaition may be even more extremly profitable than it is (and also the people who put labels on everything, and I mean everything, prior to ISO,IATA,IOSA and CAA inspections) These people are the unsung heros of aviation and last but not least, write about all the bean counters who invented off shore maintenance facilities.
Oh and I forgot, Boeing lawyers, who invent unnecessary ADs to protect their backsides and contracts I can use as doorstops (I particualarly like the block capitals they use, when they really out to protect themselves/other mentioned parties/associates/persons living/non living/visiting........)

Lancaster? I think the late Roy Chadwick may have disputed that.