Foil: 20 Panel: 4 Column: 2 Line: 7

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Sponsor

Honored by:
Michelle McFarlane

James M. McFarlane (1929-2007) received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas. His first employment was with McDonnell Aircraft and he worked on the Mercury Project, specifically on the cockpit and instrument panel. He met the Original Seven astronauts who provided advice and suggestions for the spacecraft. In 1998, long after he left McDonnell and had retired from General Electric, his family had a reunion in Washington, D.C. and they visited the National Air and Space Museum. There Mr. McFarlane pointed out various parts of the Mercury capsule cockpit and the joystick. It was as if he had finished the project a week or two before. Specifically, he pointed out that the ejection button for an emergency jettison had been originally placed at the top of the joystick. At the suggestion of the astronauts, the button was moved to the side to reduce the chance of accidentally jettisoning the spacecraft. Mr. McFarlane’s descriptions were listened to avidly not only by his large family, but also by a dozen or so others who happened to listen in.

Mr. McFarlane, like most engineers, served as a fine example of what can be achieved by common sense and hard work.