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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Maryanne Hicks

Working for over 25 years at the National Water Lift Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Joe Birnell was instrumental in the fabrication, high pressure and qualification testing, and systems re-design of aviation control systems. His technical skill, innovation and engineering work-arounds led to the production and use of some to this country's most advanced aviation attitude control & guidance systems.

His work covered numerous commercial aircraft, military fighters, and cargo planes, including the revolutionary fly-by-wire system used in the F-16, the attitude control systems on the Apollo moon project, the hydraulics on the XB-70A Valkyrie, and the guidance systems on the Maverick and Hellfire missiles. In the days before computers designed systems and ran simulations, Joe relied on his innate engineering skills to develop his own test equipment and methods, sometimes having to redesign systems to function to required specifications. He, along with countless others working behind the scene, was responsible for making aviation what it is today.