Category Archives: People

Leonardo da Vinci – His contribution to Engineering

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Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15th April 1452, 564 years ago – how can he still have such an influence and contribution to the world – almost 500 years after his death?

More accurately known as Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, given that da Vinci is an indicator of birth place, Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian (Florentine) polymath from the 15th Century. A polymath is someone whose expertise spans a large number of different subjects or areas. He is well known for such notable work as the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Vitruvian Man.

Leonardo da Vinci (biography.com)

Leonardo da Vinci (biography.com)

His interests extended far beyond art and anatomy though, branching into architecture, music, botany, cartography, literature, mathematics and engineering. He was, and remains, however renowned primarily as a painter but his technological ingenuity should rightly be revered. He conceptualised armoured fighting vehicles, concentrated forms of solar power and flying machines. While relatively few of his designs were constructed and tested some entered the world mostly unheralded. Some were not even feasible given the level of industry progress at the time.

Tank Design By Leonardo da Vinci - Bortolon, The Life and Times of Leonardo, Paul Hamlyn

Tank Design By Leonardo da Vinci – Bortolon, The Life and Times of Leonardo, Paul Hamlyn

Leonardo’s fascination with the phenomenon of flight led to several flying machine designs such as a flapping ornithopter (an aircraft that mimics the flapping of wings like a bird) and a machine with a helical rotor. Some of his designs were later constructed in the beginning of the 2000’s and it seems he had a mix of successes and some that, required further development.

Flying Machine (Helicopter) http://www.leonardodavincisecrets.com/invention.html

Flying Machine (Helicopter) http://www.leonardodavincisecrets.com/invention.html

Flying Machine (Ornithopter) https://www.tes.com/lessons/ZR0tAYSiEUf6sA/da-vinci-invention-drawings

Flying Machine (Ornithopter) https://www.tes.com/lessons/ZR0tAYSiEUf6sA/da-vinci-invention-drawings

Since a large number of his designs and inventions were never formally published or produced – their influence at the time was lesser – however they have gone on to influence countless generations of Engineers and Designers since.

Capt. Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown – An Obituary

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Today the death of Capt. Eric Melrose ‘Winkle’ Brown CBE DSC AFC KCVSA PhD Hon FRAeS RN was announced by his family at the age of 97 following a short illness. He was one of the most famous of all British pilots, holding world records and decorations.

 

Capt. Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown (dailymail.co.uk)

 
He was the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm and held the world record for the greatest number of different aircraft types flown, 487, as well as the record for the highest number of aircraft carrier deck landings. This only includes general types – the list of different marks would be far higher. He was known as ‘Winkle’ during service due to his diminutive stature, and following his time as a Royal Navy Officer became a test pilot. he achieved several ‘firsts’ in naval aviation. These included the first landings on an aircraft carrier for a twin engined aircraft, a tricycle undercarriaged aircraft and a jet propelled aircraft. It would be impossible to describe and do his life and career justice in anything less than a multi-volume book so please consider these the edited highlights only.

Born in Leith, Scotland in January 1919, he was taken up in a Gloster Gauntlet by his father when he was around 9 years old. He travelled to Germany to see the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and while there was invited to join the newly formed Luftwaffe at social gatherings. He started at Edinburgh University the following year, studying Modern Languages, with an emphasis on German. He was selected to take part in an exchange student scheme at Schule Schloss Salem, and it was while he was there in Germany that he was woken up in September 1939, with a woman knocking on his door, announcing that “our countries are at war”. he was arrested by the SS soon after and released after 3 days, to be escorted, with his MG Magnette sports car to the Swiss border – they claimed he could keep the car as they “couldn’t get spares for it”.

He returned to the UK and joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as a pilot, initially serving on the escort carrier HMS Audacity until it was torpedoed and sank in 1941 – he was one of only two survivors from the squadron. Following this he was posted to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough to share his experience of deck landings. He returned to operational flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and also flew with Fighter Command before he returned to the RAE, this started his role flying experimental and captured aircraft. 

At this time, the RAE was the leading authority on high speed flight and as a result Brown became heavily involved in this sort of testing, even testing the Lightning, Mustang and Thunderbolt aircraft for the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). He then became involved with the Gloster Meteor and supersonic research and testing.

Towards the end of the war, given his language skills, Brown was selected to be CO of the team preparing to acquire German aeronautical technology before it was either destroyed or taken by the Soviets. On one mission, he was expected to arrive at a liberated aerodrome, only to find that resistance had delayed the liberation and it was still an operational Luftwaffe base – a surrender was offered and Brown took charge of the airfield and staff until Allied Forces arrived the following day. His language skills meant he was asked to help in the interrogation of the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp commandant and his assistant following the liberation of the camp.

Following World War II, he commanded the ‘Enemy Aircraft Flight’, an elite group of test pilots who flew captured German and Italian aircraft. This alone made him one of a small group, who were actually qualified to compare the aircraft on both sides. Again, his language skills meant he was involved in the interviews of many Germans, including Göring, Heinkel and Messerschmitt. His involvement and information gained from the Miles M.52 supersonic project, prior to its cancellation allowed the Americans to make the modifications needed for the Bell XS-1 to allow Chuck Yeager to become the first man to exceed Mach 1 in 1949.

His career as a test pilot meant flying aircraft that had killed other men, in 1946 he flew a modified de Havilland DH.108 after a crash in a similar aircraft killed Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr. In recreating de Havilland’s accident conditions he discovered the aircraft suffered a high-g pitch oscillation – he managed to pull out of the situation but believed he survived in part due to his height – de Havilland suffered a broken neck that could have been attributed to the violent oscillation.

In the 1950s he was seconded to the United States Naval Test Pilot School, flying a number of aircraft while there including a reported 36 types of helicopter. He then returned to Germany in the late 1950s working to re-establish German naval aviation. His last appointment in the Royal Navy was in 1967, when he took command of RNAS (now RAF) Lossiemouth. He retired from the Royal Navy in 1970.

 

Capt. Brown at a book signing in 2012 (D M Roberts)

 
His time since has been spent writing, giving lectures, serving as a President of the Royal Aeronautical Society (1982/1983) and promoting aviation history. He has been active in aviation circles right up to and including last month. Having met Captain Brown several times over the years at aviation events, I can tell you, that above all this, he was an extremely pleasant man and a true gentleman in every sense of the word. He was willing to sit and chat while signing books on windy airfields well into his 90s and always had a kind word or comment for anyone willing to stop and talk. He will be sadly missed.

Challenger Disaster: 30 Years On

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Aeronautics isn’t just about the Civil and Military Aircraft that fly all over the world on a daily basis – although this tends to be our main focus, it’s also about any situation where flight is achieved and this can include WIG (Wing in Ground Effect) Aircraft and more importantly for this blog entry – Space.

Space, to paraphrase Star Trek, is one of the ‘final frontier{s}’ of human experience. Only the depths of the oceans have been explored less. It is one of the least hospitable places for human life to attempt to explore. This means those who seek to answer the questions of the wider human race by exploring space – put their lives in great danger, relying on the designs of engineers to keep them safe.

30 years ago today, on the 28th January 1986, one of the most well known of all space related disasters occurred. The NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds into its initial lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre as part of a six day mission STS-51-L. All seven crew members died in the disaster, although the exact timing of their deaths following the initial incident is unclear.

The Challenger flight 51-l crew" by NASA - Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

The Challenger flight 51-l crew by NASA – Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

Subsequent investigations pointed to the disintegration of the launch vehicle beginning after an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed during lift-off – this caused a breach in the joint of the SRB it sealed. From this, pressurised burning gas from within the solid rocket motor could reach the outside and damage the external fuel tank and field joints. Separation occurred, leading to structural failure of the external tank. At this point aerodynamic forces broke up the orbiter. Fragments from the incident descended to the Atlantic Ocean floor where they were recovered after a lengthy search and rescue operation.

Booster Rocket Breach by NASA - Licensed under Public Domain via Commons

Booster Rocket Breach by NASA – Licensed under Public Domain via Commons

Investigations into the disaster followed and the Rogers Commission was established to report to President Reagan on the causes of the disaster on Challenger’s 10th mission. The commission discovered the O-ring failure and following further study, attributed it to a design flaw, as it could be too easily compromised by a range of factors, one of which was low temperatures and cold weather. Further, it determined the ‘contributing causes’ that led to such an accident being possible. That both NASA and the contractor, Morton Thiokol, failed to respond adequately to the design flaw. That the launch decision making process was also seriously flawed and that the risk from the design issues was known but that there were no checks and balances to protect from such a decision being made. The disaster lead to the grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet for a period of around 3 years. During this time, changes had to be implemented; safety measures, SRB redesigns and new policies on decision making were all part of this process.

Although these changes were made by NASA following the incident, it is often argued that the changes in the management structure and culture have not been deep or long lasting – an argument levelled at NASA once again following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Columbia broke up over Texas and Louisiana on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere following damage caused by foam insulation breaking off the external tank. Investigations led to the conclusion that NASA had failed to learn lessons from the Challenger disaster and that the same “Flawed decision making process” (Columbia Accident Investigation Board; CAIB) still existed.

So 30 years on, what can we still learn from the Challenger disaster? It is commonly used as a case study in engineering – looking at safety in engineering, ethics, whistle-blowing, communications and group decision-making. The engineer who warned about the effect on the O-rings, Roger Boisjoly, was, prior to his death in 2012, a speaker on workplace ethics and is held as an example of honesty and integrity. As engineers, by studying the disaster and the various complications around the event – we can improve our own understanding of safety, management and ethics within our field.

Blue Plaque unveiled for local Aviation Pioneer – J D North

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On the 25th July 2015, Staffordshire University Lecturer, Debi Roberts, was one of the specially invited guests alongside members of the Boulton Paul Association, the Bridgnorth Civic Society and the Bridgnorth Mayor and Mayoress to attend the unveiling of a Blue Plaque on the former Bridgnorth home of aviation pioneer John Dudley North CBE, former Managing Director and Chief Engineer of Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd. She was invited as part of her work to promote the local history of aviation in Staffordshire and the Midlands, as well as her links to the Boulton Paul company through two generations of her family.

The plaque installed at Eversley House

The plaque installed at Eversley House

John Dudley North was born in January 1893 and educated at Bedford School, following the death of his father, he was unable to attend University and instead took up an apprenticeship within marine engineering. His obvious interest in aeronautics and man’s desire to fly led to him transferring to an aeronautical apprenticeship at Hendon under Horatio Barber, he then headed to the factory of Claude Graham White. He rose rapidly to become Chief Designer and Chief Engineer. Following time at Austin, he moved to Boulton & Paul at Norwich to set up the Aeronautical Department. He then formed a consortium to buy the division when it was sold in 1934.

In 1936 the renamed Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd moved to Pendeford, Wolverhampton and North took up residence at Eversley House, Bridgnorth. He lived there until his death in January 1968, remaining a crucial and integral part of BPA and the aviation industry thoughout this time.

Boulton Paul Association members with the Mayor at the unveiling.

Boulton Paul Association members with the Mayor at the unveiling.

The Mayor spoke of North’s work as a lifetime advocate of improved air safety and his dedication to improvements in aircraft design before unveiling the plaque and then posed for photographs with the Boulton Paul Association members (Left to Right in the image above), Jack Holmes (Chief Engineer), Les Whitehouse (Archivist), Joyce Dunworth (widow of former BPA test pilot, Geoff Dunworth) and Cyril Plimmer (Chairman). An archive display of North’s life (collated by Association Archivist Les Whitehouse) was presented alongside light refreshments from the current owners of Eversley, Mr and Mrs John Murphy.

The Dambusters – Squadron Leader Les Munro – Obituary

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On the 4th August 2015, news came through of the death of Squadron Leader Les Munro, the last surviving Dambusters pilot, he was 96. Only two of the crew members from the raid now survive.

The last Dambuster pilot Les Munro. Photo NZME.

The last Dambuster pilot Les Munro. Photo NZME.

Out of the 133 crew who took part in the raids, only 77 returned from the legendary World War Two operation to attack the Ruhr dams. The operation was later made famous in the movie ‘The Dambusters’. The Lancaster bombers used in the operation flew from RAF Scampton, near Lincoln in 1943 and it was their successful use of the “bouncing bombs” designed by Barnes Wallis to damage one dam, and destroy two others that made their mission so well known.

19 bombers left the base on the night of the 16th May, in three waves, setting out towards the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams, only 8 aircraft returned. However, the mission was a success and the leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Squadron Leader Munro was born on April 5, 1919 in New Zealand, his Scottish father having emigrated in 1903. Following his role in the Dambusters raid, he played a continuing role in the RAF and RNZAF, following his retirement from the forces, he was a pillar of the local community, including a role as Mayor of Tekuiti from 1978 to 1995. He was still flying at the age of 95 and co-piloted an Avro Anson plane in January this year. He was predeceased by his wife Betty, and is survived by 4 of their 5 children.