Jim Drake

Jim Drake , born as James Robert Drake (born January 8, 1929 in Los Angeles , † June 19, 2012 in Pfaffown , North Carolina ), was an American engineer who was instrumental in the development of windsurfing . He contributed to the fact that this sport became increasingly popular and accessible to a wide audience.

Life

Drake was the only son of Harrison and Doris Drake. He graduated from Stanford University , graduating in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. In 1955 he married Mary Robertson. As an engineer and designer, he was involved in the development of the X-15 rocket aircraft and the Tomahawk- type cruise missile . Drake has worked for well-known companies such as North American Aviation and RAND Corporation, and the US Department of Defense . Drake married his second wife, Phyllis, in 2000. At his death he left two daughters and four sons and 15 grandchildren.

Windsurfer license

Illustration of the Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer patent (1968)

Drake used his free time sailing and water skiing . Windsurfing as a sport was invented by Peter Chilvers and Newman Darby. The current popularity of this sport is due to the inventions of Jim Drake and his then friend Hoyle Schweitzer. Together they registered a patent in 1968 for a new development of the boom as a pair of curved trees that run across the spar and hold the sail between them . Schweitzer began to market this idea and contributed to the success of the invention with his entrepreneurial thinking. He later urged Jim Drake to let him have the patent and paid him $ 36,000 for it. The friendship with Schweitzer, who then founded the successful company "Windsurfing international", broke up.

Web links

Origins of windsurfing: Jim Drake. Detailed interview in: American Windsurfer Magazine: Vol 4 Issue 4, 1996 (English).
Robby Naish, Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer are voted into the PWA Hall of Fame. Professional Windsurfers Association press release, November 5, 2002.

Individual evidence

^ Valerie J. Nelson: Jim Drake dies at 83; aeronautical engineer created the windsurfer. In: Los Angeles Times , July 2, 2012.
^ Daniel E. Slotnik: Jim Drake, Creator of the Windsurfer, Dies at 83. In: The New York Times , July 3, 2012.
↑ Jim Drake - inventor of windsurfing. In: worldofwindsurfing.net , accessed February 27, 2014.
↑ United States Patent Office: Patent Number 3,487,800 Wind-propelled apparatus (filed March 27, 1968, patented January 6, 1970)
↑ The inventor of windsurfing. In: Die Welt , October 5, 2008.

personal data
SURNAME	Drake, Jim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Drake, James; Drake James Robert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American engineer and pioneer of windsurfing
DATE OF BIRTH	January 8, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH	los Angeles
DATE OF DEATH	June 19, 2012
Place of death	Pfaffown , North Carolina

[1] Valerie J. Nelson: Jim Drake dies at 83; aeronautical engineer created the windsurfer. In: Los Angeles Times , July 2, 2012.

[2] Daniel E. Slotnik: Jim Drake, Creator of the Windsurfer, Dies at 83. In: The New York Times , July 3, 2012.

[3] Jim Drake - inventor of windsurfing. In: worldofwindsurfing.net , accessed February 27, 2014.

[4] United States Patent Office: Patent Number 3,487,800 Wind-propelled apparatus (filed March 27, 1968, patented January 6, 1970)

[welt-5] The inventor of windsurfing. In: Die Welt , October 5, 2008.