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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Susan Frank-Spitzig

Wilbert Wallace Frank
1913 - 1992
Mr. Frank was employed by Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Propeller Division at Caldwell, New Jersey from 1939 until his retirement in 1970. Upon his retirement he was extended a life membership to the Management Council of the Corporation.
During his tenure he was in charge of the experimental engineering department and was instrumental in developing several propeller systems which carry Curtiss-Wright patents, his most notable being improvements on the reversible pitch of the propeller.
He spent the war years at Curtiss often going to Wright Paterson Air Base in Ohio; Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, California; a test facility at Muroc Dry Lake now Edwards Air Force Base to work with the test pilots on product trials and also training military personnel to maintain the propellers. Curtis used hollow steel blade propellers.
Following the war, Curtiss-Wright began producing turbine blades for the turbo jets. Mr. Frank traveled through Europe, South Africa and India training the commercial airline maintenance crews how to care for and inspect the propellers.