John Wimpenny

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John Wimpenny (born December 3, 1922 in London , † April 27, 2015 in Hertfordshire ) was a British aircraft engineer.

Life

Wimpenny grew up in Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill and attended Minchenden Grammar School in Southgate. In 1958 he moved to St Albans , Hertfordshire , where he lived until his death in April 2015.

Career

John Wimpenny's career as an aircraft engineer began with de Havilland Aircraft Company in Hatfield , Hertfordshire, England in October 1940 and he worked on the development of the Mosquito , Tiger Moth , Hornet , Vampire and Comet lines of aircraft . In 1957 he became Deputy Chief Aerodynamicist. From 1965 he worked for Hawker Siddeley Aviation as Chief Research Engineer. He was involved in the development of the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 jet aircraft for business travelers and worked with Dornier-Werke in Immenstaad on Lake Constance on a VTOL project. In Hatfield he was appointed Director of Research at Hawker Siddeley Aviation and later he became Executive Director of Research at British Aerospace in Kingston-upon-Thames near London.

Muscular strength plane

The Hatfield Puffin , a muscle power aircraft , was developed by a team led by John Wimpenny and built by volunteers at the Hatfield Aircraft Plant.

Record flight in the puffin

On May 2, 1962, 39-year-old John Wimpenny climbed up in the Puffin after cycling a hundred meters. He needed about two minutes for the flight distance of 900 meters. This world record was broken only after ten years.

Next life

From 1990 to 1999 John Wimpenny was a professor for student research projects at City University London . From 1995 to 2015 he was Vice-Chairman of the Human Powered Aircraft Group of the Royal Aeronautical Society .

Awards and honors

  • 1976: Hodgson Prize for his presentation on Costs and Decision-Making
  • 1978: Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal for his many important contributions in the field of applied aircraft technology
  • 1983: Hodgson Prize for his presentation Aircraft R and D (Research and Development) in Europe - A Perspective View

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Guardian, May 5, 1962, p. 1
  2. ^ The Daily Telegraph, May 5, 1962, p. 1
  3. ↑ Die Zeit, May 18, 1962
personal data
SURNAME Wimpenny, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British aircraft engineer
DATE OF BIRTH December 3, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH April 27, 2015
Place of death Hertfordshire