Margery Watson’s French Curve
Submitted by: Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington
Margery Watson used this French curve while working as a draftsperson at North American Aviation on the team designing the P-51 Mustang. Watson’s main focus was the Mustang’s under-fuselage air scoop that forced air through the aircraft’s radiator. Watson used her favorite tool, the French curve, to draw and redraw the scoop and the aft cooling duct until the engineers perfected the scoop’s dimensions. This artifact is in the Margery Watson Collection at the Museum of Flight.