A Focus on Flight

Proud to be a part of aviation history

Bitten by the aviation bug in college, it’s been a wonderful career for
this flying enthusiast.

 In 1962, I had to decide between pre-med or aeronautical engineering as a sophomore at the University of Illinois. I read an article about the Lockheed A-12/SR71 in Aviation Week, and it made my decision. I received degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering and went on to complete graduate school also. In 1970, I went to work for the Lockheed California Company and retired 30 years later after working on many Skunkworks projects. During the last ten years, I was manager of product engineering for the F-117A Avionics Division.

During college, I took all of the computer courses offered, which were very limited at that time. These then were the basis of my career with Lockheed Martin and my leading many software and systems development projects. The most challenging was being project engineer for the Weapon System Simulation Center (WSSC) at Rye Canyon, which was a key to winning the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) demonstration and validation (Dem/Val) contract for the F-22 Raptor.