Betty Stockard was among the first specially trained flight attendants and attended a number of celebrities during her time as a flight attendant for United Airlines. She also worked for the Boeing Company.
Elizabeth “Betty” Jean Riley Stockard was born on May 16, 1919, in Kalispell, Montana to Valjean Riley and Charlotte Dryer. She graduated high school from Flathead County High School, which is on an Indian Reservation. Her family made their living as farmers, selling dairy products such as butter and milk. Growing up on a dairy farm, Stockard says her favorite food was ice cream due to it being in abundance on the farm.
After graduating from high school, Stockard knew she wanted to attend college, so she saved up money working at a women’s dress shop and stayed with a family friend while attending the University of Montana in Missoula. There were only two major options for women at that time at this university: home economics and business. Stockard decided on home economics but took a break before her senior year due to the United States’ involvement in World War II.
In 1942 Stockard began working for the Boeing Company at Boeing Field in Washington before seeing a United Airlines job posting regarding “stewardess” (flight attendant) positions. Following this, Stockard began the lengthy interview and training process before becoming a flight attendant. She was among the first women to be specially trained to become flight attendants, as all previous flight attendants had been nurses. During this process, Stockard took her first airplane flight from Seattle, Washington to San Francisco, California.
During her time as a flight attendant, Stockard had interactions with a number of celebrities and famous figures, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Stockard also met her husband, Wallace Raymond Stockard, on a flight she was attending. Stockard also had lengthy experience flying in the Douglas DC-4 airplane that came into use during World War II.
After being a flight attendant, Stockard married Wallace Stockard and had four children, three boys and one girl. By 1950, their family was living in San Mateo, California but later returned to the Seattle area. Wallace died in 1990 in Seattle; Betty was still living in the area as of 2014.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Michelle Evans served in the United States Air Force and later had careers in various other industries. She experienced difficulties and setbacks as a transgender woman in industries dominated by men.
Born in 1955 in Upland, California to Patricia June and Robert Bryce Evans, Michelle Evans grew up largely in California. She attended about 18 months of high school in Colorado before graduating from Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, California. Her father worked for Sangamo Electric providing instrumentation tape recording systems to the aerospace industry. When only five years old Evans began going with him to Edwards Air Force Base where she spent time watching the North American X-15 flights and meeting the pilots and crew. This began her life-long passion for the aerospace business.
With few resources for college, Evans joined the U.S. Air Force in 1973, training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. She took basic and specialty electronics courses held at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, after which she was assigned to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington. Her first four years there were focused on the Short Range Attack Missile system. Then she was reassigned to Missile Check-out, which she felt was a much less interesting job, motivating her to leave the service in December 1980.
After leaving the Air Force she declined an employment offer from the Boeing Company and moved back to her home state of California. Her first civilian position was at National Technical Systems (NTS) doing vibration, shock, and acoustic testing. A key component part of NTS testing was made by INDEVCO, which became Evan’s next employer, a relationship that extended for 11 years. After leaving INDEVCO, she worked for a year at another company as a technical writer after which she formed her own business, Mach 25 Media, in 1993. Her company produces articles and editorials for magazines, newsletters, and online web sites. Her website also showcases her photography, which ranges from photos taken with a Kodak Instamatic when first assigned to Fairchild, to NASA Space Shuttle launches, and other flight-related subjects. In juxtaposition to her aerospace photography are her modeling photos, which she began taking while living in Spokane.
In 2013 Evans authored the book The X-15 Rocket Plane, Flying the First Wings into Space. As of 2023, Evans continues to provide strong support and advocacy for the transgender community conducting monthly meetings in person and virtually under her TG Rainbow Support Group umbrella and through her YouTube channel.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Born-digital video recording of an oral history with Robert Drew and interviewer Steve Dennis, recorded as part of The Museum of Flight Oral History Program, March 14, 2018.
Pilot Robert E. Drew is interviewed about his decade-spanning career as a military pilot and a test pilot. He discusses his service with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II and his postwar service with the California Air National Guard. He then describes his time as a Douglas Aircraft Company test pilot during the 1950s and 1960s, focusing in particular on his flight activities with the company’s Military Division. He also touches briefly on his air racing career. Throughout the interview, Drew discusses his experiences and thoughts on the various aircraft he flew, including the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P-51 Mustang, North American F-86 Sabre, Douglas F4D Skyray, Douglas AD Skyraider, and Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.
Robert Drew served as a pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and then with the Air National Guard. Following his military service, he worked as a test pilot for Douglas Aircraft Company.
Robert “Bob” Edmund Drew was born on September 7, 1924 in Los Angeles, California to C.D. Drew and Jane (Rupert) Drew. He grew up in the Los Angeles area, attending Santa Monica High School and then Santa Monica City College for a year studying business administration. He eventually received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerodynamic Engineering and a Graduate Degree in Business Administration from UCLA.
When World War II started, he decided to go into military service and, determining that he would prefer to fly rather than be in the infantry or at sea, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943. He earned his commission and silver wings at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. Drew spent about a year in training and then was assigned to the 18th Fighter Wing based in the Philippines. He served in the South Pacific from about mid-1945 to mid-1946. While there, he piloted Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and North American P-51 Mustangs. After 13 months overseas, he returned to the United States. He became a flight commander and squadron operations officer by the time he was discharged in 1946.
Drew joined the Air National Guard in California in the late 1940s as a flight commander. During his service with the National Guard, the military transitioned from P-51s to jets, including the North American F-86 Sabres. Although the Korean War was happening while Drew was in service with the National Guard, his squadron (the 195th) did not get sent abroad to fight, but remained on call stateside.
While still in service with the National Guard, Drew joined the Douglas Aircraft Company as civilian engineering test pilot in 1952. However, he resigned from his service with the National Guard around 1956 in order to be eligible for promotions within Douglas. At Douglas, his test flight activity was primarily conducted at Edwards Air Force Base and Patuxent River, Maryland. He flew as a flight test engineer in the DC-6, DC-7, DC-8, and the C-124. As a production test pilot, he flew the F3D, Skyraiders AD-5, AD-6, and AD-7. As an engineering test pilot, he flew the XF4D, XF5D, A-4, A-3, and DC-8. Drew made the maiden flight of the A-4C Skyhawk on August 21, 1958. Finally, as a project development engineering test pilot, he flew the F4D Skyray and A4 Skyhawk. Also, during this time, he conducted the flight test work necessary to set two world speed records, 3km and 100km at 756 MPH, and five time-to-climb world records, which the F4D held in the mid-1950s. He continued flight test work for Douglas Aircraft until 1962.
Drew also competed in Formula One Pylon Races across the country for 40 years, between 1953 and 1993. He flew more than 15 different custom design racers and competed in some 25 races, including Reno, Mojave, Corvallis, Detroit, San Diego, San Marcos, and others. In total, as a combat, test and racing pilot he accumulated nearly 10,000 hours of flight time in more than 75 aircraft types over 50 years.
Drew married his wife, June F. Anderson, on July 19, 1958. After his work in the aviation industry, he worked in corporate real estate. He became a docent for the Museum of Flight in 2000. He died in June 2019.
Biographical note derived from oral history interview, donor information and records on Ancestry.com.
Pilot Joseph E. Kimm is interviewed about his decade-spanning aviation career. He discusses his early experiences as a flight steward on Ford Trimotor aircraft, and his time as a copilot and pilot for Northwest Airways (later Northwest Airlines), spanning the 1930s to the 1970s. He also touches on his military service during World War II with Air Transport Command, U.S. Army Air Corps. Other topics discussed include his work building aircraft models, his experiences with various aircraft, and a memorable flight from Minneapolis to Seattle with Amelia Earhart.
Joseph Kimm had a 42-year long career with Northwest Airways and served with the Special Missions Group during World War II.
Joseph Edward Kimm was born August 18, 1911 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Albert Peter and Catherine Kimm. He attended Central High School in Minneapolis, graduating in 1929. Because of the Depression, his family could not afford to send him to college, so he found a job helping make candy at a soda fountain.
As a child he enjoyed building model airplanes. At a meeting for model airplane makers he met Walter Bullock, an early aviator who shared Kimm’s hobby. When Kimm quit his job at the soda fountain, Bullock hired him to help make and sell model airplane kits. Bullock also flew for Northwest Airlines and invited Kimm on a flight. Having enjoyed the flight, Kimm then asked Bullock to help him get a job as a flight steward. Kimm was hired by Northwest Airways July 1, 1929 to serve as steward on the then-new Ford Trimotors. His primary task was to keep the airplane cabin clean. Kimm claims to have invented the air sickness bag while he was working as a steward. Realizing that being a pilot would be more a lucrative job, he sought out flight training. He began working for Northwest as co-pilot, and once he had earned his commercial pilot’s license he was promoted to captain in 1933 at the age of 23. His first route was between Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Over the course of his piloting career, he was involved in opening up two important air routes, one from Minneapolis to Seattle, Washington across the northern Rockies. That flight had Amelia Earhart as a passenger, who was publicizing both her recent book and their history-making flight. He also opened a route across previously uncharted territory from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.
Fascination with the P-12E motivated him to join the Army Air Corps Reserves prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. This later led to him being called into wartime active duty in 1941 as one of the few dozen pilots forming the Special Missions Group (Brass Hat Squadron) during the war. In this role, he flew various dignitaries around the world, including Senator Albert Hawkes, Mexican Air Force General Salinas, and then General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In October 1956, Kimm and Senior Captain “Deke” DeLong marked Northwest’s 30th Anniversary by flying a restored Ford Trimotor coast to coast to mark the occasion. Treated like celebrities at every stop, Kimm and DeLong appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show in New York.
Kimm flew his final Northwest Boeing 707 flight on August 17, 1971. In his retirement years he enjoyed skiing, scuba diving, and delivering Meals on Wheels until he was well into his 90s. Kimm lived to be 102 years old, passing away on September 19, 2013.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Bruce Mennella served in the U.S. Navy with Fighter Squadron 114 (VF-114) during the Vietnam War. He later operated a car dealership in Burien, Washington.
Bruce Edward Mennella was born on September 16, 1946 in New York City to Vincent and Madeline Mennella. His father had been a pilot in World War II, flying transport airplanes from Sand Point Naval Air Station. After the war, Vincent obtained a college degree under the GI Bill. In mid-1947, he and his family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he worked for NCM, a cash register company. In the mid-1950s, Vincent opened a Ford dealership in Burien, Washington. He also remained an active pilot in the Navy Reserves.
Mennella attended school in Burien, Washington, graduating from Highline High school in 1964. He attended the University of Washington’s School of Business. He planned on joining his family’s car business after graduation; however, the onset of the Vietnam War altered his post-graduation plans. As a sophomore, he went to a Navy recruiter and worked out a deal to enter the military after graduation. He passed the aviation written exam in order to become a pilot, but due to his eyesight, he did not pass the medical exam. Instead, he went into Air Intelligence. Graduating in June 1968, he reported to Aviation Office Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. From there, he went to Air Intelligence School at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. While in Denver, he re-connected with Louise A. Vacca, a woman he had dated occasionally in high school who was now a flight attendant with United Airlines. They were married in 1969.
Once he had completed his training, Mennella was assigned to NAS Miramar in San Diego, California, arriving there in November 1969. VF-114 flew McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft and was reformatting after a WESTPAC cruise. He spent the next 11 months training, including flying in the back seat of VF-114 airplanes whenever possible. The USS Kitty Hawk, associated with the squadron, was at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington for refurbishing at that time.
Mennella’s first cruise was from November 1970 to July 1971 on the USS Kitty Hawk. Operating in the middle of a bombing halt and in the southern area off the coast of Vietnam, the cruise did not see a great deal of activity. Mennella worked in the Integrated Operations Information Center (IOIC), briefing and debriefing pilots on their targets. Briefings included weather conditions, rules of engagement, tanking procedures, emergency procedures, and an overview of the area of operations. In his off time, he traveled in Sasebo, Japan; Hong Kong; and Subic Bay, Philippines, where his wife was able to visit him.
Mennella’s second cruise, also on the USS Kitty Hawk, began in February 1972. This time, the carrier operated off the north coast of Vietnam and included missions going into Hanoi. Each Alpha strike took 35 to 40 airplanes in a three-operations-per-day cycle. Briefings were longer and more complex due to the area of operations. About five months into the tour, Mennella’s wife had their first child. Since Mennella’s replacement was on board, Mennella was sent home. He left the Navy in October 1972. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for his first cruise and earned the Navy Commendation Medal on his second cruise.
Back in Seattle, Mennella went to work for his father’s Ford dealership. He assumed the role of general manager in 1980 and five years later bought the business. He added Isuzu and Subaru franchises shortly after. His success brought him on to the Ford National Dealer Council, where he served for two years. After that, he was elected chairman of the Northwest Ford Dealers Advertising Group covering Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.
Mennella and his wife ultimately had three children and seven grandchildren. As of 2020, they were still living in the Seattle area.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Born-digital video recording of an oral history with Jim Jackson and interviewer Dan Hagedorn, recorded as part of The Museum of Flight Oral History Program, September 23, 2014
Aviation mechanic James “Jim” Hawthorne Jackson is interviewed about his life and military service. Particular focus is given to Jackson’s time with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, when he worked as a B-29 mechanic in the United States and Guam. Afterwards, Jackson discusses his involvement with The Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center and his work restoring various aircraft, including the Museum’s B-29 Superfortress and Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star.
James “Jim” Hawthorne Jackson was a B-29 mechanic during World War II. Later, he volunteered at The Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center, assisting with the restoration of the Museum’s B-29 and YO-3A.
Jackson was born in Seattle, Washington on May 31, 1915 to Herbert Robinson and Margaret (Metzgar) Jackson. He grew up in the Kirkland and Bellevue, Washington area. His father was a friend of Bill Boeing Sr. and worked as the first foreman for the Boeing Company’s woodshop in the Red Barn. Jackson graduated from Bellevue High School in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) shortly thereafter. In this role, he ran telephone lines across the Cascade Mountains. He worked for the CCC for a little over a year and continued to work in residential construction before losing sight in one eye from an accident. Afterwards, he worked as a security guard on docked ships in Lake Union.
At the beginning of World War II, Jackson was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Forces. He attended Arrow Industries Technical Institute in Glendale, California for training as a sheet metal worker. Following the completion of that training, he was sent to Oklahoma City Air Service Command and then was transferred to Pratt Army Airfield in Kansas, where he encountered his first B-29 Superfortress. Despite being blind in one eye, Jackson was sent on overseas duties to help construct what would become Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. He also serviced B-29s returning from missions over Japan, working with the 29th Bombardment Group of the 314th Wing.
Jackson was discharged from military service in January 1946 and returned to Seattle. He worked at Wilson Machine Works in West Seattle until his retirement in 1974. Following the death of his wife, Cynthia, he joined the restoration team at The Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center. He worked on the Museum’s B-29, YO-3A, and other aircraft.
Jackson died on July 13, 2016 and is buried in Anderson Cemetery in Snohomish County, Washington, alongside his wife.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Pilot Henry Sanford “Sandy” McMurray is interviewed about his military and commercial flying careers. He discusses his service with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, including his flight training with the Civilian Pilot Training Program, his service with the 305th Bombardment Group in the European Theater, and his service with the Air Transport Command in the Pacific Theater. He then shares highlights from his time as a commercial pilot for ONAT (Orvis Nelson Air Transport) and United Airlines and as a test pilot for Boeing, where he rose to the position of head of Production Test Flight before his retirement in 1981.
McMurray’s son, Scott Sanford McMurray, also participates in the interview.
Introduction and personal background -- Flight training, part one -- Service in the European Theater, part one -- Flight training, part two -- Service in the European Theater, part two -- Service with the Air Transport Command, part one -- Story about an ill-fated takeoff in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress -- Service with the Air Transport Command, part two -- Service in the Pacific Theater -- Father’s military service and death -- Marriage and career with United Airlines -- Career with Boeing -- Connections to The Museum of Flight -- Thoughts on different aircraft and a close call on the runway -- Ferrying a B-17 from Hawaii to California -- Memories of the Red Barn -- Additional stories from wartime service, part one -- More on the Red Barn and stories from flying career -- Additional stories from wartime service, part two -- More on his father’s career and service -- Bailing out of a Curtiss C-46 -- Closing thoughts
Henry Sanford “Sandy” McMurray was a retired Boeing Production Test Pilot with a career spanning 32 years, from 1949 until 1981.
McMurray was born on July 14, 1921 in San Leandro, California to Welborn and Harriett McMurray. He lived there with his parents and younger sister, Elizabeth, until joining the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941.
McMurray went to McKinley Grade School and San Leandro High School, transferring to Hayward High School from which he graduated in 1939. While in high school he filled out a questionnaire about possible careers and indicated that he was going to be a pilot. Working toward that goal, mechanically-minded McMurray attended San Jose State College taking engineering classes. The Civilian Pilot Training Program had just started there and McMurray was one of the first 50 candidates selected. Earning his Private Pilot Certificate by the summer of 1941, he took his physical and was accepted into the U.S. Army Air Corps on November 7, 1941. Attending training at “Kelly-on-the-Hill,” he selected multi-engine training, knowing that would further a civilian career as a pilot.
On July 3, 1942 he was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Group, subsequently known as the “Can Do” group, at Muroc Field. Completing his B-17 training there, McMurray found himself and his crew in Chelveston, England by November. McMurray flew his first mission on December 12 to Rouen, France in the B-17 “Unmentionable Ten” and his 25th mission on July 26, 1943 striking Hanover, Germany. Returning to the United States, he was transferred to the Air Transport Command, where he earned his Instrument Rating while delivering bombers, fighters, and transports. Assigned to the 7th Ferry Command, he was based in Wilmington, Delaware on D-Day when he had the opportunity to fly in the Pacific Theater. McMurray’s father had disappeared in 1942 with the fall of the Philippines and he was eager to see what information he could find. He learned that his father had passed away at Cabanatuan on June 14, 1942 of cerebral malaria. McMurray spent the last year and a half of the war bringing wounded troops out of battle and flying in replacements.
Discharged from the U.S. Army Air Forces on January 3, 1946 at McClellan Field, California, McMurray quickly found work as a flight engineer for Orvis Nelson Air Transport (later Transocean Airlines). After three months with ONAT, he was hired by United Airlines, flying as copilot primarily on West Coast routes. On one of these flights, he met his wife, Marjorie, a United Airlines stewardess. They were married in San Francisco on December 6, 1947. About a year later, United furloughed 88 pilots, McMurray included.
McMurray was then hired on at the Boeing Company. When United Airlines asked him back in October 1949, he opted to stay with Boeing. For his first couple of years at Boeing, McMurray wrote pilot handbooks. He subsequently moved to a test pilot position. As a test pilot, he started out copiloting Stratocruisers, C-97s, B-50s, B-29s, and other variants of these airframes. He transitioned to jet-engined aircraft with the B-47 and also flew the KC-135 and B-52 as part of the team developing jet-engined refueling capabilities for the U.S. Moving to the civilian side of Boeing, he flew the 707, 727, 737, and 747 extensively in Production Test Flight. In 1966, McMurray’s manager, Clayton Scott, retired and McMurray was promoted into his position as head of Production Test Flight. He held this position until his retirement in 1981.
McMurray died in 2021 at 99 years of age.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Iva Metz is interviewed about her life and her secretarial career in the aviation and aerospace industries from the 1940s through the 1980s. She discusses her professional experiences working for the U.S. Navy, the Cessna Aircraft Company, the Boeing Aircraft Company, and North American Aviation. The interview focuses in particular on her time at NASA and her involvement with the space program. Iva also touches on her husband’s (Homer) career in the military and with Boeing on various missile and rocket programs.
Introduction and personal background -- Flight training -- Teaching career, ground school, and husband’s Navy service -- Life in Banana River, Florida during World War II -- End of World War II and move to California -- Metzes’ careers at Boeing -- Career at North American -- Memories of Apollo 1 and Apollo 7 -- Memories of Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 -- Experiences with Skylab and other space program memories -- Return to Boeing -- Stories from moving cross country -- Aviation experiences and favorite aircraft -- Advice for young people and outstanding moments in career -- Closing thoughts
Iva L. (Fullerton) Metz worked as a secretary with the U.S. Navy, North American Aviation, and at Cape Canaveral during the Apollo and Skylab programs.
Metz was born on February 12, 1924, on a farm about 10 miles outside of Mankato, Kansas to John and Jeanette Fullerton. Her father was a farmer and her mother stayed at home taking care of their six children, four girls and two boys. Her mother passed away at 37 years old when the children were little. Attending Montrose School, Metz describes her journey to school: “[we] rode horses to school, and – all four girls on one horse. That was our bus.” She attended the same school, elementary through high school, in Montrose, Kansas. By 1942 she was teaching in a one-room schoolhouse east of Mankato with nine students all in different grades.
Metz became interested in flying as a young girl when her father took her to an airshow in Concordia, Kansas, about 30 miles southeast of their farm. Once living on her own and teaching school, Metz began flying lessons. After only five hours of instruction, she soloed an Aeronca Chief, a side-by-side, two-seat, 65-hp light airplane. She was the first female pilot to solo from the local field. Homer L. Metz, who would later become her husband, was also learning to fly at the same airfield. Iva was only able to take a few more lessons before the airplane was needed to train male pilots preparing for World War II. After Homer joined the U.S. Navy at the end of 1942, Iva moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1943 to attend ground school at Wichita University. They were married in 1944.
When Homer was transferred to Banana River Naval Air Station in Florida, Iva went to work for the Navy where she controlled the secret documents used to train the pilots on radar. After the end of the war, the couple remained at Banana River to help deactivate the air station. The couple moved to Glendale, California in 1946 and Iva found a billing clerk job at Andrew Jergens Company. In 1950, after completing school and having their first child, Steve, the family moved to Wichita, Kansas. Homer went to work for the Boeing Company and Iva for Cessna Aircraft Company as a payroll clerk. The family remained in Wichita until Homer was transferred to Seattle, Washington in 1958. The family, now numbering four with the birth of Douglas, put their furniture in storage and moved to Seattle. However, not long after that, Boeing sent them to Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton, Florida. Iva found a job at Boeing as the secretary for the manager of the facilities. She was at Hurlburt when Alan Shepard became the first American into space on May 5, 1961.
In June 1961, the family was transferred back to Seattle where Homer went to school to learn more about electrical system and electronics. After five months of training they were sent to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with Boeing. Iva found a secretarial job at Autonetics, a division of North American Aviation which was designing guidance systems and involved with Minuteman Missile testing. She became one of the first operators of the 1-A Data System that provided direct communications with all North American facilities. The A-1 used telephone lines and a punch tape to send the messages quickly and confidentially.
In 1966 Homer transferred to Cape Canaveral with the Saturn V and Minuteman programs and Iva transferred to a North American operation at the Cape as well. Here she was working with various engineering groups who were working on Apollo and the Saturn second stage. She typed critical design documents, which had to be perfect to ensure the safety of the astronauts. The astronauts were very appreciative, frequently sending gifts as a way to say “…thank you for not killing me.” She became very close to all the astronauts over her time at the Cape.
A vivid and tragic memory was the death of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire in January 1967. Iva wore a collar pin every day that s
Engineer Arthur K. Davenport is interviewed about his career in the aviation and aerospace industries. He discusses his work at Hamilton Standard during the 1960s and 1970s, focusing in particular on the design and development of the Apollo spacesuit’s Life Support System backpack. He also discusses his subsequent engineering career with Boeing and his experiences as a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for the Federal Aviation Administration. Davenport’s wife (Wendy) and son (Chris) also participate in the interview.
Introduction and personal background -- College and U.S. Air Force service -- Engineering career with Hamilton Standard -- Graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a story about sublimators -- Career at Boeing, part one -- Submarine system design -- Career at Boeing, part two -- Designated Engineering Representative (DER) of the FAA -- Experiences with patents -- Thoughts on current space efforts -- Involvement with The Museum of Flight -- Career as an author -- Thoughts on engineering career -- Design work for the Space Shuttle -- Discussion about spacesuits and backpacks -- Testing the Boeing 747 -- Additional details about engineering career -- Early aviation memories and father’s engineering career -- Additional details about DER work -- Conversation with the Davenport Family and miscellaneous stories
Arthur K. Davenport is an aviation and aerospace engineer who worked for Hamilton Standard and the Boeing Company.
He was born in New York to Earl and Ruth Davenport. His father served in the Army Air Corps and afterwards worked for Sikorsky Helicopters and Republic Aviation.
Davenport attended the Stevens Institute of Technology (New Jersey) and participated in the school’s ROTC program. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a maintenance officer with the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing.
In the mid-1960s, Davenport was hired by Hamilton Standard as an engineer for the Apollo Program. His work included contributing to the design and development of the Apollo spacesuit’s Life Support System backpack. Later, he was involved in developing the Environmental Control System for the Space Shuttle Program. While at Hamilton, he also earned a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Connecticut).
In the mid-1980s, after 21 years at Hamilton, Davenport and his family relocated to Washington State, where he accepted a job at Boeing. His projects included design work for the 747 and for Combat Edge, a pressure vest designed to protect pilots from high G forces. In 1997, he became a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for the Federal Aviation Administration. As a DER, he helped to test the Environmental Control System for the 747.
Davenport retired from Boeing in 2007 but returned to work as a job shopper. He retired again in 2013. Since retirement, he has self-published a number of mystery novels, including Fall to Earth (2014), Beyond the Breakers (2014), Hidden Failure (2014), and The Running Water River Bridge (2016).
Davenport married his wife, Wendy, in 1963.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Engineer Sydney Baker is interviewed about his life and his decade-spanning career in the aviation industry. He discusses his work at Vickers-Armstrongs in the 1940s and 1950s and his subsequent engineering jobs with Canadair and the Boeing Company. Projects discussed include the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) program, the AOA (Airborne Optical Adjunct) program, and guided missile development. He also shares his experiences as a Museum of Flight docent and his restoration work on the Museum’s B-29 Superfortress. Other topics discussed include his school years in England during World War II, his service in the Parachute Regiment, and his restoration of vintage sports cars.
Introduction and personal background -- Adolescent years in England during World War II and early flight experiences -- Apprenticeship at Vickers-Armstrongs and service with the British Army -- Guided missile testing in Australia -- Career with Canadair -- Career with Boeing and work on AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) and AOA (Airborne Optical Adjunct) -- Involvement with The Museum of Flight and aircraft restoration work -- Achievements and notable moments from his career -- Advice for young people -- Car restoration and sports racing -- Legacy of restoration work -- Stories from Army service -- Side projects at Boeing -- Final questions
Sydney J. Baker was an aviation engineer who worked for Vickers-Armstrongs, Canadair, and the Boeing Company.
Sydney James Baker was born in London, England on January 26, 1930 to Sydney Baker (a bunting factory owner) and Esme Perrett (a shopkeeper’s assistant). When he was young, his family moved to Surrey, England. Nearby was a Vickers-Armstrongs airdrome as well as a racetrack, which inspired an interest in aviation and cars. During World War II, his father volunteered for the Royal Observer Corps. Baker would help his father and the other men identify aircraft carrying out bombing missions against England. At about age seven, he left home to attend Sevenoaks grammar school, a boarding school in Kent, England. At the age of 12, he received his glider’s license. He became an instructor at age 14, helping to teach injured fighter pilots how to fly again.
After graduating from Sevenoaks, Baker returned to Surrey. Wanting a hands-on job, he joined Vickers-Armstrongs as an apprentice, where he specialized in making wind tunnel models. He attended the local college at the same time. Once he finished his college coursework, he was drafted into the British Army and served with the Parachute Regiment. Once he had completed his military service, he returned to Vickers-Armstrongs as a flight test engineer but now located in Adelaide, Australia. His projects included the Supermarine Scimitar and developing guided missiles for the Weapons Research Establishment in Australia.
When his projects in Australia had concluded, he returned to England, but did not want to stay there permanently. Wanting to relocate to Canada, Baker accepted a position with Canadair, where he worked on the Sparrow missile. When the program was canceled in 1959, he accepted a job offer with the Boeing Company and moved to Seattle, Washington. Among the projects he worked on during his career at Boeing were the CIM-10 Bomarc missile, the Minuteman missile, the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) program, and the AOA (Airborne Optical Adjunct) program.
Following his retirement from Boeing in 1996, Baker became a docent for The Museum of Flight. He later joined the Museum’s aircraft restoration team and was instrumental in helping to restore the tail section of T-Square 54, the Museum’s B-29 Superfortress. His love of cars also continued throughout his life; he was an amateur car racer and restored old Porsches.
Baker married his wife Janet Keast, a nurse, in 1953 and they had two children, Mary and John. Baker died in September 2022.
Biographical sketch derived from interview, information provided by interviewee, and obituary.