The following is a summary my Technical Leadership and pioneer engineering of World Class Air, Space and National Intelligence Systems advancements. It expands on the significance of a few and qualifies others. It contains additional accomplishments and some explanations that I was unable to include within the limited 12 lines of the requested "Profile".
I flew as an Air Force civilian Flight Test Engineer conducting Phase II flight tests of the XB-46 with Capt. Glen Edwards, (Edwards AFB) and XB-45 with Maj. Danny Forbes (Forbes AFB). Also flight tested the F-82, F-89A, C-121, T-29, C-97 and others to determine if the airplane met the contract specifications for performance and stability and control. I conducted Phase II tests of the XF-92A with Yeager, and flight tested the F-84B and F-86.
I headed the team that discovered the "SONIC BOOM" in April, 1950. Though supersonic flights were made for several years after Yeager's first one in October of 1947, no one (even the top aerodynamicists) expected the shock wave to extend all the way to the ground - and I was there to watch his first Supersonic flight; The 21 April, 1950 issue of the Dayton Journal Herald reported that this was truly a "Discovery"!
As Chief of Test Engineering at the USAF Rocket Engine Test Lab (RETL) at Edwards AFB in 1951 I was involved in planning for the Atlas Missile Captive Flight Tests, for the Thor in 1955 and Minuteman silo development tests in 1959. I became the Technical Director of the RETL in 1957 responsible for the technical activities of 700 personnel and 800 missile contractor personnel
I was responsible for the design criteria and justifying the budget up through DOD for Test Stand 1A (TS-1A), 1-1 and 1-2 in 1953. By the late 90's, TS-1A was listed in the National Register and is still in active use in the year 2000
The entire ROCKET SITE at Edwards AFB has been designated an Historic Aerospace Site by the AIAA. I originated the Altitude Simulation Test Stand concept in 1955. Two of these stands were built at the AEDC in Tenn. and two later built at the RETL at Edwards.
I was a U.S. delegate to the International Astronautics Federation Congress in Rome, Italy in 1956. Founder and first Pres. of the Antelope Valley Section of the ARS with Capt. Iven Kincheloe (Kincheloe AFB) as the VP. I was Chrmn. of Technical Comms. of the IAS and ARS and involved in their merger into AIAA.
As a consequence of the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets on 4 Oct. 1957, I hosted 1500 attendees to a Series of 35 lectures on "Space Technology" in Antelope Valley, Calif, as part of UCLA's overall presentation of the Series at various locations in So. Calif. UCLA had planned the Series prior to the launch of Sputnik but, upon it's launch, the demand for attendence rocketed!
I was a supergrade in Launch Operations in Manned Space Flight in Hq. NASA from 1960 to 1964. I was personally responsible for official approval of the trajectory for John Glenn's first orbital flight. Had Glenn's flight failed, I would have had to explain it to Congress!
I was the first person to testify before a Congressional Comm. for the initial funding for the Kennedy Space Center, requiring me to describe our plans for the entire complex. My testimony on Mar. 14, 1962, during the Congressional Comm. Hearings for the FY 1963 NASA Authorization, detailed our need to acquire 72,000 acres of land and three Advanced Saturn launch pads, the Control Station and the Vertical Assembly Bldg.
In 1965, I became the Program Mgr. of a major space related SIGINT Collection System at NSA. Because of the size of the total cost of the Program, I had an additional responsibility directly to the DDR&E in DOD.
From 1972 to 1979, I was Chrmn. of DOD's Telemetry and Beacon Analysis Committee.
I've had 36 years of Federal Civil Service concurrent with 26 years in the Air Force Reserves. I served in uniform as a B-29 Flight Engineer Instructor during WW II and as a Rocket Scientist during the Korean War. In addition, during my 15 years as a civilian at the National Security Agency, I collected and analyzed Soviet intelligence data at the time of the War in Viet Nam and during the Cold War!