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62-448: Leroy Randle " Roy " Grumman (4 January 1895 – 4 October 1982) was an American aeronautical engineer , test pilot , and industrialist . In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co. , later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and now part of Northrop Grumman . Grumman was born in Huntington, New York . His forebears had Connecticut roots and owned a brewery. When he was

124-489: A "great engineer, respected by many ..." To family and close friends, he was invariably known as "Roy". Having been told of the U.S. Navy's desire for retractable landing gear, Leroy Grumman was awarded U.S. patent 1,859,624 , Retractable Landing Gear for Airplanes in 1932, based on an earlier design that he had developed for the Loening Air Yacht. The innovative, manually operated landing gear which progressed from

186-497: A business on December 6, 1929, and officially opened on January 2, 1930. While maintaining the business by welding aluminum tubing for truck frames, the company eagerly pursued contracts with the US Navy . Grumman designed the first practical floats with a retractable landing gear for the Navy, and this launched Grumman into the aviation market. The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy,

248-410: A check out in a "hot ship": the front line F6F Hellcat. After a 10-minute cockpit check, Grumman waved Converse away, started the engine and was soon taxiing down the runway and into the air on a half-hour joy ride. Even though he hadn't flown for years, as he had in the past, when things built up, he would "take his troubles upstairs and leave them there." The factory test pilots observed that Grumman had

310-402: A child, his father, George Tyson Grumman, owned and operated a carriage shop, and later worked for the post office. From an early age, "Red Mike" (a nickname he gained because of his red-blond hair) demonstrated an interest in aviation, and in his 20 June 1911 high school salutatory address at Huntington High School , Grumman predicted that "[t]he final perfection of the aeroplane will be one of

372-546: A company legend grew up around the number "250" which marked the zenith for expansion in Grumman's mind. He reasoned that if there were more than 250 employees, "it's going to be too big and we're going to lose control of it. That's where we ought to stop." Company accountant Towl was eventually deputized to tell Grumman that the payroll was already at 256. Although Grumman resisted the "expansionist" efforts that Swirbul advocated, employment grew from 700 in 1939 to 25,500 in 1943, with

434-753: A course on "subchaser" engines. Although Grumman applied for flight training, he failed a medical evaluation when the examining board incorrectly diagnosed flat feet . A clerical error, however, had him report to a course in aircraft inspection for pilot trainees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Without revealing the error in classification, he entered primary flight training at Naval Air Station Miami and successfully completed advanced flight training in Pensacola , Florida, in September 1918. Raymond P. Applegate, his flight instructor, recalled several years later that his young charge "was very, very reticent. Most of

496-510: A heavy and unreliable design to a more sturdy version helped his company win contracts from the U.S. Navy. When the Grumman Company received its first U.S. Navy production contract for a two-seater biplane fighter, the FF-1 , it featured Grumman's trademark "splayed out" landing gear. Grumman's ability as an engineer and designer was characterized by a Grumman Company engineer as that of "'a master of

558-553: A high-wing and low-wing configuration were set up outside his office. Grumman personally made the decision to go with "the low wing". While continuing the company tradition of aircraft production for naval aviation, Grumman pushed for a shift in priorities resulting in the Space Steering Group, a space program that culminated in the design and production of the Apollo program's Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) that landed astronauts on

620-544: A maximum of 853. Though development of this aircraft began in 1988 as a competitor to the 747, the A380 made its first test flight in April 2005. Some of the elements of aerospace engineering are: The basis of most of these elements lies in theoretical physics , such as fluid dynamics for aerodynamics or the equations of motion for flight dynamics . There is also a large empirical component. Historically, this empirical component

682-565: A severe reaction that affected his eyesight. Although he was not entirely blind, his vision was greatly affected; Grumman began to "become less visible" in the company. By March 1945, Grumman oversaw a production effort where all types reached a record 664 aircraft manufactured in one month, although Swirbul had "farmed out" production to a vast chain of subsidiary and licensed manufacturing plants. Like its competitors, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation experienced severe postwar downsizing, dropping from 20,500 to 5,400 employees immediately after

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744-527: A wave of mergers as aerospace companies shrank in number; in 1994 Northrop bought Grumman for $ 2.1 billion to form Northrop Grumman , after Northrop topped a $ 1.9 billion offer from Martin Marietta . The new company closed almost all of its facilities on Long Island and converted the Bethpage plant to a residential and office complex, with its headquarters becoming the corporate headquarters for Cablevision and

806-606: The Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo aircraft commenced its first flight. It holds the records for the world's heaviest aircraft, heaviest airlifted cargo, and longest airlifted cargo of any aircraft in operational service. On October 25, 2007, the Airbus A380 made its maiden commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney, Australia. This aircraft was the first passenger plane to surpass the Boeing 747 in terms of passenger capacity, with

868-550: The Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight from New York to London. This aircraft made history and became known as the "Jumbo Jet" or "Whale" due to its ability to hold up to 480 passengers. Another significant development came in 1976, with the development of the first passenger supersonic aircraft, the Concorde . The development of this aircraft was agreed upon by the French and British on November 29, 1962. On December 21, 1988,

930-571: The Curtiss JN 4 , Farman F.60 Goliath , and Fokker Trimotor . Notable military airplanes of this period include the Mitsubishi A6M Zero , Supermarine Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109 from Japan, United Kingdom, and Germany respectively. A significant development came with the first operational Jet engine -powered airplane, the Messerschmitt Me 262 which entered service in 1944 towards

992-567: The F9F Panther , became operational in 1949, although the company's most significant postwar successes came in the 1960s with the A-6 Intruder and in the 1970s with the F-14 Tomcat . Although the relationship that Grumman had established with the U.S. Navy was the hallmark of the company's success, a set of new projects were initiated with the development of an engineering department, set up in much

1054-691: The Grumman FF-1 , a biplane with retractable landing gear developed at Curtiss Field in 1931. This was followed by a number of other successful designs. During World War II , Grumman became known for its "Cats" (Navy fighter aircraft ): the F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat , the Grumman F7F Tigercat and Grumman F8F Bearcat , and also for its torpedo bomber , the Grumman TBF Avenger . Grumman ranked 22nd among United States corporations in

1116-841: The Medal for Merit from the U.S. President (1948), an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree by Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1950, the Daniel Guggenheim Medal for aeronautics pioneering, and the NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering (1968) from the National Academy of Sciences . In 1972, Grumman was inducted in the National Aviation Hall of Fame , the International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 1973, and

1178-674: The first American satellite on January 31, 1958. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was founded in 1958 after the Sputnik crisis . In 1969, Apollo 11 , the first human space mission to the Moon , took place. It saw three astronauts enter orbit around the Moon, with two, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin , visiting the lunar surface. The third astronaut, Michael Collins , stayed in orbit to rendezvous with Armstrong and Aldrin after their visit. An important innovation came on January 30, 1970, when

1240-666: The Gulfstream I was operated by several regional airlines in scheduled passenger services. The Gulfstream I-C (Grumman model G-159C) version was "stretched" to carry 37 passengers. In the early 1970s, Grumman acquired majority interest in the American Aviation line of very light aircraft -- relabeling its planes as "Grumman-American" or "Grumman American" -- eventually joining it with their Gulfstream division before selling off that combined enterprise in 1978. In 1978, Grumman sold Gulfstream to American Jet Industries , which adopted

1302-584: The Gulfstream name. Since 1999, Gulfstream has been a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics . For much of the Cold War period, Grumman was the largest corporate employer on Long Island . Grumman's products were considered so reliable and ruggedly built that the company was often referred to as the " Grumman Iron Works ". As the company grew, it moved to Valley Stream, New York , then Farmingdale, New York , finally to its facility in Bethpage, New York , with

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1364-669: The Intruder in 1990. The U.S. Navy still employs the Hawkeye as part of Carrier Air Wings on board aircraft carriers, while the U.S. Marine Corps, the last branch of service to fly the Prowler, retired it on March 8, 2019. Grumman was the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module , the first spacecraft to land humans on the Moon. The firm received the contract on November 7, 1962, and built 13 lunar modules. Six of them successfully landed on

1426-516: The Leroy R. Grumman Cadet Squadron. In 1953, Grumman was elected to the board of trustees of his alma mater, Cornell University, and donated $ 110,000 for a new squash building which now bears his name, as does an office and lab space on the campus. We always tried to do a solid job. Aeronautical engineering "Aeronautical engineering" was the original term for the field. As flight technology advanced to include vehicles operating in outer space ,

1488-604: The Loening organization, becoming the factory manager and then general manager with responsibility over aircraft design, a position he held until the company was sold in 1929 on the eve of the Depression to Keystone Aircraft . Keystone closed their Manhattan factory and moved operations to Bristol, Pennsylvania . Unwilling to leave Long Island to continue working for Keystone, Grumman joined fellow Loening employees Jake Swirbul and William Schwendler in resolving that their best option

1550-479: The Long Island Technology Hall of Fame in 2002. The USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO-195) , a United States Navy fleet replenishment oiler , christened by his three daughters, was launched in 1988 and delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1989. In January 2011, a Civil Air Patrol Squadron from Northport, Long Island, New York, was renamed in his honor: the former Suffolk County Cadet Squadron VII now calls itself

1612-414: The Moon in 1969. During that same year, the company was rebranded as Grumman Aerospace Corporation . Throughout this period, Grumman's eyesight continued to fail, and he "took to wearing dark glasses" which further limited his mobility. On 19 May 1966, Grumman retired as chairman of Grumman, but was elected honorary chairman for his lifetime, remaining as a director until 15 June 1972. He continued to visit

1674-575: The Moon, with one serving as a lifeboat on Apollo 13 , after an explosion crippled the main Apollo spacecraft. LM-2, a test article which never flew in space, is displayed permanently in the Smithsonian Institution . As the Apollo program neared its end, Grumman was one of the main competitors for the contract to design and build the Space Shuttle , but lost to Rockwell International . In 1969,

1736-601: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA. It was the first government-sponsored organization to support aviation research. Though intended as an advisory board upon inception, the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory became its first sponsored research and testing facility in 1920. Between World Wars I and II, great leaps were made in the field, accelerated by the advent of mainstream civil aviation. Notable airplanes of this era include

1798-512: The Navy. His duties included test flying as well as serving as the production supervisor. Grover Loening, the company president, was so impressed with his work that he offered Grumman a position. After a reduction in rank to ensign in the peacetime U.S. Navy, Grumman resigned his Naval commission in October 1920, becoming a test pilot flying various types of Loening amphibians while doing some design and development on these aircraft. He quickly moved up in

1860-599: The Wildcat and then with the F6F Hellcat fighters, Grumman and Swirbul remained the key figures in the design office. As the war progressed, the pair continued to advance new projects, including the largest single-engine aircraft of World War II, the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber and F7F Tigercat and F8F Bearcat fighter aircraft. Near the end of the war, Grumman was given a penicillin injection to combat pneumonia , resulting in

1922-407: The aerospace industry. A background in chemistry, physics, computer science and mathematics is important for students pursuing an aerospace engineering degree. The term " rocket scientist " is sometimes used to describe a person of great intelligence since rocket science is seen as a practice requiring great mental ability, especially technically and mathematically. The term is used ironically in

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1984-456: The aviation pioneers around the late 19th to early 20th centuries, although the work of Sir George Cayley dates from the last decade of the 18th to the mid-19th century. One of the most important people in the history of aeronautics and a pioneer in aeronautical engineering, Cayley is credited as the first person to separate the forces of lift and drag , which affect any atmospheric flight vehicle. Early knowledge of aeronautical engineering

2046-402: The broader term " aerospace engineering" has come into use. Aerospace engineering, particularly the astronautics branch, is often colloquially referred to as "rocket science". Flight vehicles are subjected to demanding conditions such as those caused by changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature , with structural loads applied upon vehicle components. Consequently, they are usually

2108-485: The cessation of hostilities. It was an extremely hard decision because the company had been careful to cultivate a positive workplace culture; when a canvass was made of employees who wanted to "move on" at war's end, only 126 came forward. Swirbul realized his wartime expansion would have to be abandoned, and together with Grumman made the momentous call for a complete layoff of all staff. However, Grumman personally retained as many veteran employees as possible, calling back

2170-505: The commercial civil aviation market, introducing landmark designs such as the Ag Cat aerial application and crop-dusting biplane and the Gulfstream I , Gulfstream II , Gulfstream III and Gulfstream IV series of executive turboprop and jet transport aircraft. Although his role as chairman became reduced, Grumman's counsel was paramount and when the Gulfstream project was launched, two models of

2232-610: The company changed its name to Grumman Aerospace Corporation , and in 1978 it sold the Grumman-American Division to Gulfstream Aerospace . That same year, it acquired the bus manufacturer Flxible . The company built the Grumman LLV (Long Life Vehicle), a light transport mail truck designed for and used by the United States Postal Service . The LLV was produced from 1987 until 1994. Its intended service life

2294-416: The company known as the "Grumman Iron Works" (a name derived from their product line's rugged structure and a design philosophy espoused by both Swirbul and Grumman) becoming the primary source for U.S. Navy aircraft. Despite his innate shyness, Grumman's management style included a "hands-on" approach where he could talk comfortably with both executives and factory floor workers. His relationship with Swirbul

2356-587: The company's facilities until his health began to fail in the early 1980s, as diabetes robbed him of the last "vestiges of his eyesight." Grumman and his family retained their 8,299 sq ft, 2.5 acre waterfront estate at 77 Bayview Road in Plandome Manor on Long Island where, after a long illness, he died at the North Shore University Hospital in nearby Manhasset on 4 October 1982, aged 87. A number of honors have been bestowed on Grumman including

2418-558: The course, Grumman's first posting, along with a promotion to lieutenant, was at the League Island Naval Yard as an acceptance test pilot for Curtiss - and Navy-built flying boats. In 1919, the U.S. Navy stationed Grumman at Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation in New York City as the project engineer to supervise the firm's construction of 52 Loening M-8 monoplane observation/fighter aircraft under contract to

2480-411: The design of World War I military aircraft. In 1914, Robert Goddard was granted two U.S. patents for rockets using solid fuel, liquid fuel, multiple propellant charges, and multi-stage designs. This would set the stage for future applications in multi-stage propulsion systems for outer space. On March 3, 1915, the U.S. Congress established the first aeronautical research administration, known then as

2542-517: The educated hunch' who could foresee technical problems and their solutions." He single-handedly invented the famous " Sto-Wing " wing-panel folding system that revolutionized carrier aircraft storage and handling, pioneered on the F4F-4 Wildcat subtype. He worked out the solution by sticking paper clips into a soap eraser to find the pivot point that made the Sto-Wing possible. Although Grumman realized

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2604-627: The end of the Second World War. The first definition of aerospace engineering appeared in February 1958, considering the Earth's atmosphere and outer space as a single realm, thereby encompassing both aircraft ( aero ) and spacecraft ( space ) under the newly coined term aerospace . In response to the USSR launching the first satellite, Sputnik , into space on October 4, 1957, U.S. aerospace engineers launched

2666-616: The expression "It's not rocket science" to indicate that a task is simple. Strictly speaking, the use of "science" in "rocket science" is a misnomer since science is about understanding the origins, nature, and behavior of the universe; engineering is about using scientific and engineering principles to solve problems and develop new technology. The more etymologically correct version of this phrase would be "rocket engineer". However, "science" and "engineering" are often misused as synonyms. Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation , later Grumman Aerospace Corporation ,

2728-429: The flaps down as he taxied back to the flight line, and insisted that he pay the standard $ 1.00 fine for a flight infraction. Grumman stuffed a five-dollar bill into the party fund container, confiding that it was to make up "for things he'd done in the air that they hadn't seen." By 1939, as World War II began, Grumman's struggling company could hardly be considered an industrial giant, with all of its property relying on

2790-599: The greatest triumphs that man has ever gained over nature." Grumman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1916. His first job was in the engineering department of the New York Telephone Company . After the United States entered World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in June 1917 as a machinist's mate, 2nd class, and was sent to Columbia University for

2852-401: The guys, after they [learned to] fly, they became tougher than hell. Grumman didn't." He was commissioned an ensign (as naval aviator No. 1216), eventually becoming a flight instructor, and assigned to a bombing squadron. After one tour of duty, the U.S. Navy sent him to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study the brand new discipline of aeronautical engineering . After the completion of

2914-564: The importance of his close relationship with the U.S. Navy, by the mid-1930s, he began to design aircraft for the commercial market with the development of the G-21 "Goose" amphibian and the G-22 "Gulfhawk" , civil version of the Grumman F3F carrier-based fighter. As the company expanded, it moved to bigger quarters – to Valley Stream in 1931, Farmingdale in 1932, and finally Bethpage in 1937. In 1934,

2976-725: The integration of all components that constitute an aerospace vehicle (subsystems including power, aerospace bearings , communications, thermal control , life support system , etc.) and its life cycle (design, temperature, pressure, radiation , velocity , lifetime ). Aerospace engineering may be studied at the advanced diploma , bachelor's , master's , and Ph.D. levels in aerospace engineering departments at many universities, and in mechanical engineering departments at others. A few departments offer degrees in space-focused astronautical engineering. Some institutions differentiate between aeronautical and astronautical engineering. Graduate degrees are offered in advanced or specialty areas for

3038-447: The most proficient and experienced "hands", predominantly those who had 10 years of service. Grumman stepped down from the role of company president in 1946, but continued to play an active role in management. Building with the core group, Swirbul and Grumman restructured the company, first solidifying its long-term contracts with the U.S. Navy, beginning a continuous line of new combat aircraft. Grumman's first venture into jet aircraft ,

3100-577: The new company involved Grumman and Swirbul, as president and vice-president, on hands and knees, sorting out and matching nuts and bolts, prior to assembling Loening floats. Swirbul and Grumman oversaw the day-to-day operations of the company. While the employees in the plant felt comfortable calling the outgoing Swirbul "Jake", no one ever called Grumman anything but "Mr. Grumman" out of deference to his reserved manner and respect for his skill as an engineer and designer. Dick Hutton, Grumman engineer and later senior vice-president of engineering described him as

3162-499: The products of various technological and engineering disciplines including aerodynamics , air propulsion , avionics , materials science , structural analysis and manufacturing . The interaction between these technologies is known as aerospace engineering. Because of the complexity and number of disciplines involved, aerospace engineering is carried out by teams of engineers, each having their own specialized area of expertise. The origin of aerospace engineering can be traced back to

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3224-428: The same way that he had started out, with a small core of eight engineers given the mandate to explore new technology. With Swirbul's death on 28 June 1960, Grumman lost not only a close friend but his "right hand" during a time when he was faced with critical decisions as to the company's future. He successfully guided the company into finding new markets for new products. In the move to diversification, he again entered

3286-476: The services of a single security guard, yet the company was obtaining important civil and military contracts. However, the next year saw dramatic changes in the company's fortunes as the war in Europe prompted France and Britain to order F4F Wildcats , Grumman's first monoplane fighter design, still bearing his original signature design element, the retractable undercarriage that had been created in 1932. Beginning with

3348-484: The testing and final assembly at the 6,000-acre (24 km ) Naval Weapons Station in Calverton, New York , all located on Long Island. At its peak in 1986 it employed 23,000 people on Long Island and occupied 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m ) in structures on 105 acres (0.42 km ) it leased from the U.S. Navy in Bethpage. The end of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1990s reduced defense spending and led to

3410-601: The value of wartime production contracts. Grumman's first jet aircraft was the F9F Panther ; it was followed by the upgraded F9F/F-9 Cougar , and the F-11 Tiger in the 1950s. The company's big postwar successes came in the 1960s with the A-6 Intruder and E-2 Hawkeye and in the 1970s with the Grumman EA-6B Prowler and F-14 Tomcat . Grumman products were prominent in several feature movies including The Final Countdown in 1980, Top Gun in 1986, and Flight of

3472-564: Was 24 years, but some of them were still in service in 2020. In 1983, Grumman sold Flxible for $ 40 million to General Automotive Corporation of Ann Arbor. In the 1950s, Grumman began production of Gulfstream business aircraft, starting with the Gulfstream I turboprop (Grumman model G-159) and the Gulfstream II jet (Grumman model G-1159). Gulfstream aircraft were operated by many companies, private individuals, and government agencies including various military entities and NASA . In addition,

3534-900: Was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft . Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 with Northrop Corporation to form Northrop Grumman . Leroy Grumman worked for the Loening Aircraft Engineering Corporation beginning in 1920. In 1929, Keystone Aircraft Corporation bought Loening Aircraft and moved its operations from New York City to Bristol, Pennsylvania . Grumman and three other ex-Loening Aircraft employees, ( Edmund Ward Poor , William Schwendler, and Jake Swirbul ) started their own company in an old Cox-Klemin Aircraft Co. factory in Baldwin on Long Island , New York. The company registered as

3596-441: Was derived from testing of scale models and prototypes, either in wind tunnels or in the free atmosphere. More recently, advances in computing have enabled the use of computational fluid dynamics to simulate the behavior of the fluid, reducing time and expense spent on wind-tunnel testing. Those studying hydrodynamics or hydroacoustics often obtain degrees in aerospace engineering. Additionally, aerospace engineering addresses

3658-460: Was largely empirical, with some concepts and skills imported from other branches of engineering. Some key elements, like fluid dynamics , were understood by 18th-century scientists. In December 1903, the Wright Brothers performed the first sustained, controlled flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, lasting 12 seconds. The 1910s saw the development of aeronautical engineering through

3720-596: Was named after its largest stockholder and first president. On 2 January 1930, the company took possession of an abandoned auto showroom garage in Baldwin, New York , that had once been the Cox-Klemin Aircraft Co. factory. Initially, the new company, with only 18 people on salary, had contracts to repair damaged Loening amphibians (surplus parts had been bought from the Loening works) and traded on its expertise in working with aluminum by building aluminum floats and producing aluminum truck bodies. The first project of

3782-495: Was to quit and form their own company. Grumman mortgaged his house for $ 16,950 and Swirbul's mother borrowed $ 6,000 from her employers to help set up Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. The co-founders were soon joined by Ed Poor, Grover Loening's business manager, and E. Clinton Towl, who had recently come from Wall Street. These five men formed the company's inner circle of management for the next 50 years. Loening and his brother, Albert P. Loening, also became investors. The company

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3844-446: Was unusual. They resolved early in their partnership to work out of one office; both men further pledged that any problems or conflicts that arose between them would not fester, and that neither man would leave the office until they came to an understanding. During an unusually hectic period in the summer of 1944, Grumman sought a release from tension in a unique manner. Seeking out company test pilot Selden "Connie" Converse, he asked for

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