D. RICHARD MESSINA 1923 – 2000

Dick Messina had a lifelong passion for aviation, and he made it his career for more than a half century.

The only son of poor Italian immigrants, he was a dedicated student and graduated from Boston English High School. Unable to attend the U. S. Military Academy at West Point because he failed the eye test, he enrolled at Boston College in the fall of 1941. In 1943, he enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corps. While his vision prevented him from becoming a pilot, he became a navigator in B-17s. He married Genevieve Antonia Wallace of Boston in April 1945, shortly before he expected to be assigned overseas from his final training assignment in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Narrowly missing deployment first to the European and then to the Pacific theater (a circumstance he regretted intensely at the time but less so later), he returned to Boston College, graduating in 1947 with a B. S. in physics, as a member of the class of 1945. He continued his studies at B. C, earning his Master's degree with the thesis, "Fundamental Experiments in Aerodynamics." Following that, he performed postgraduate work in aerodynamics at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

But with the birth of his third son (James Matthew Messina, 1952 - 1973), he reluctantly decided to terminate his formal education for financial reasons, and he never was able to complete the doctoral degree to which he aspired. After leaving the university, he joined Pratt & Whitney, but not long thereafter he was recruited by General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts.

At GE, he became one of the founding generation of the company's aircraft engine business. Under Gerhard Neumann's leadership, he and his colleagues built a great new enterprise. During nearly thirty years at GE before his retirement in 1981, Dick held numerous management positions in the design, test, engineering development, marketing, and sales of the Aircraft Engine Group's commercial and military jet engines.

Dick began at GE in the jet engine compressor test laboratory, which he eventually rose to head. In those days of 24-hour-a-day tests and slide rules, he would spend the night in a cot near the compressor test rig. Among other projects, he worked on the J47 and later the J79, which powered the B-58, the F-104, and the F-4 Phantom II.

Over time, as his management responsibilities increased, he migrated from technical to market-oriented positions. Customers found his depth of technical expertise a formidable asset. He worked in various roles on the T58 and T64 small turboshaft jet engines, designed to power helicopters. Many of these unusually durable engines are still in use today. Dick also developed non-aviation markets for these engines, including auxiliary electric-power generation and oilfield applications. An innovative marine use was propulsion for the high-speed hydrofoil boats providing ferry service across the Straits of Messina.

His work on engines for the Learjet and the Dassault Falcon Fanjet helped open the era of business jet aviation. Indeed, Dick often represented GE at the annual conventions of the National Business Aircraft (now Aviation) Association (NBAA).

He headed GE's engineering and marketing team that won the contract to provide the TF34 engine for the U. S. Air Force's A-10 close-air-support aircraft. And he headed the marketing effort for the commercial version, the CF34, which powers the Canadair Challenger business jet and its larger derivatives.

Dick also served in technical and management positions in the Aircraft Engine Group's space-related projects. For example, he was program manager and manager of engineering for the design, development, and field support of the GE hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell that provided on-board electrical power for NASA's Gemini spacecraft. This was the first space application of fuel cells, which are now routinely used on U.S. spacecraft.

Dick's last position at GE was Manager of Market Development and Sales for the Group's small commercial engines, targeted for the general aviation and commuter / regional airline segments. During his eight years in this position, GE invested more than $1 billion in new engine development for smaller-transport engines (including the CT7 / T700), regaining its leadership in this segment and achieving sustained financial returns.

After retiring from GE, Dick spent three years as Director of Marketing and Product Support for the San Diego-based Turbomach Division of Solar Turbines, a producer of auxiliary power units for commercial and military aircraft.

Subsequently, he established his own management consulting practice, focusing on aviation-related business challenges. He and his consulting colleagues performed many projects for domestic and international aerospace companies - including market assessments, negotiation of international joint venture and licensing agreements, technical design audits of aerospace hardware, project management support, and acquisition analysis.

One client of continuing interest to him was the Southern California aircraft management and air charter company owned by his son John (b. 1948), which his son Robert (b. 1956) also helps to manage.

His eldest son, Richard (b. 1947), earned the Ph. D. in physics that Dick was unable to complete because of his strong commitment to his growing family.