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In the years following World War II, Dr Leo J Windecker (1921- ) worked for the Dow Chemical Co as a dentist in one of their company clinics. Windecker became interested in aircraft structures and began to research and design plastic aircraft forms. Eventually Dow saw promise in his designs and sent Dr. Windecker to Hondo, Texas in the mid-1960s where he was placed in charge of an experimental research laboratory, Windecker Research Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals. There he experimented with composite materials and developed aircraft structures built completely from them.

Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0176

Creator

Windecker, Leo J., 1921-

Date

1917-1966

Provenance

No donor information, Gift, unknown, XXXX-0176, unknown

Extent

2.18 Cubic feet ((2 records center boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection contains research data from Windecker's experiments with composites. The material includes market evaluations of the light aircraft manufacturing industry, and reports from the 1940s concerning the use of wood in aircraft production. The collection also includes correspondence between Dr. Windecker and Dow as well as project records.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Topics

Composite materials
Aeronautics
Aeronautics, Commercial
Aeronautics -- Research

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Publications
Photographs
Correspondence
Reports