In the Cause of Flight: Technologists of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Abstract

Many of the individuals who made prominent contributions to the technology of flight have attracted little historical attention; yet their accomplishments served to stimulate progress in aerospace development. This work represents an effort to foster interest in flight technologists and their contributions to vehicle performance. Information scattered throughout the literature is assembled herein to provide students of flight history with a convenient source of biographical material on 129 technologists. The biographical sketches are arranged in chronological order of contribution following each topical discussion. The topics include bouyant flight; aerodynamics; air-breathing propulsion; materials, structures, and design; vertical flight; and rocketry and space flight.