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37-440: Jack Northrop became involved with all-wing aircraft designs in the late 1920s, with his first flying wing research prototype being built in the 1928–1930 time period. That first prototype, registered X-216H, had evolved from earlier design studies but was not yet a true flying wing as it retained a tail unit comprising twin rudders with a single horizontal stabilizer running between them; both rudders were connected by twin booms to

74-399: A 2 to 3-year diploma in engineering design or drafting technology from a community college or technical school. Drafters starting out tend to move from company to company to gain experience and rise up in the professional ranks or they can start their own business and become self-employed to fully establish themselves within the professional pecking order. Compared to an entry-level drafter who

111-634: A chief engineer on the Lockheed Vega transport. He left in 1929 to found Avion Corporation, which he sold in 1930. Two years later, he founded the Northrop Corporation. This firm became a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft in 1939, so he co-founded a second company named Northrop. Born in Newark, New Jersey , in 1895, Northrop grew up in Santa Barbara, California . In 1916, Northrop's first job in aviation

148-698: A design. Although drafters use CAD extensively, it is only a tool. Drafters still need knowledge of traditional drafting techniques, in addition to CAD skills. Despite the near global use of CAD systems, manual drafting and sketching are used in certain applications. Drafters' drawings provide visual guidelines and show how to construct a product or structure. Drawings include technical details and specify dimensions, materials, and procedures. Drafters fill in technical details using drawings, rough sketches, specifications, and calculations made by engineers, surveyors, architects, or scientists. For example, drafters use their knowledge of standardized building techniques to draw in

185-405: A drafting career. Attributes required by drafters include technical writing skills, problem-solving skills, the ability to visualize three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional drawings as well as drawing the relationships between parts in machinery and various pieces of infrastructure. Other skills include an in-depth knowledge of the qualities of metals, plastics, wood and other materials used in

222-586: A precise angle of attack , but Theodore von Kármán solved the problem by making adjustments to the trailing edges of the elevons. Control of the aircraft was achieved through the use of a system of elevons and wingtip rudders. The elevons served in tailless type aircraft both as elevators and ailerons , while split flaps on the downward angled wingtips took the place of a conventional rudder; they were later straightened after that angle proved unnecessary during flight testing. The flight test program continued with Moye W. Stephens, Northrop Test Pilot and Secretary to

259-727: A prospective drafting applicant more competitive in the labour market. Licensing and certification highlights one's core competence and knowledge of a specific drafting specialty. Drafting and design certificates and diplomas are generally offered by vocational institutes such as career training schools, trade and technical schools, and non-university higher educational institutions such as community colleges or industrial training institutes. Apprenticeships combine paid on-the-job training and practical work experience with theoretical in-class instruction. Those interested in becoming drafters can earn qualifications as either drafting technologists or drafting technicians. Drafting technologists usually have

296-484: A real-world setting. Employers prefer applicants who have also completed training after high school at a trade or technical school . Prospective drafters will also need to have a strong background knowledge and experience with CADD software. Though licenses are not a prerequisite for becoming drafters, the American Design Drafting Association (ADDA) does offer certification and licensing to make

333-476: A reduced-scale version tested in 1940, ultimately became the giant Northrop YB-35 . The Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet , a welded magnesium fighter was one of the more significant of his World War II designs, along with the Northrop P-61 Black Widow , the first American night interceptor, of which more than 700 were constructed. His inventions continued into the postwar era of jet aircraft, to produce

370-591: Is also known as Jack Northrop Field in his honor. Drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English , draftsman / draftswoman , drafting technician , or CAD technician in American and Canadian English ) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or CAD designs for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, sections, etc. Drafters use computer software and manual sketches to convert

407-402: Is starting out and often lacks job experience, a more seasoned drafter often rises up within the professional ranks into a management position where they are assigned and tasked with supervising entire projects in addition to overseeing and delegating junior and entry-level drafters. If drafters with well-established careers wish to further their education and broaden their employment prospects, it

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444-734: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for "meritorious service in the advancement of aeronautics." Investiture in the International Aerospace Hall of Fame came in 1972, and in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974. He was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2003. Northrop's passion for tailless flight was honored by the naming of a giant tailless pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi . Hawthorne Municipal Airport

481-470: The B-2 Spirit flying wing to be flown like a conventional aircraft. The flying wing and the pursuit of low drag high lift designs were Northrop's passion and its failure to be selected as the next generation bomber platform after World War II, and the subsequent dismantling of all prototypes and incomplete YB-49s, were a severe blow to him. He retired at age 57 in 1952 and virtually ended his association with

518-704: The Northrop F-89 Scorpion all-weather interceptor, the Northrop YB-49 long-range bomber, the Northrop Snark intercontinental missile, and automatic celestial navigation systems. He produced a number of flying wings, including the Northrop N-1M , Northrop N-9M , and Northrop YB-35 . His ideas regarding flying wing technology were years ahead of the computer and electronic advances of "fly-by-wire" stability systems which allow inherently unstable aircraft like

555-559: The Northrop Gamma and Northrop Delta . By 1939 the Northrop Corporation had become a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft, so Northrop founded another completely independent company of the same name in Hawthorne, California , a site located by Moye Stephens , one of the co-founders. While working at this company, Northrop focused on the flying wing design, which he was convinced was the next major step in aircraft design. His first project,

592-415: The 1980s through 1990s, board drawings were going out of style as the newly developed computer-aided design (CAD) system was released and was able to produce technical drawings at a faster pace. Many modern drafters now use computer software such as AutoCAD , Revit , and SolidWorks to flesh out the designs of engineers or architects into technical drawings and blueprints but board drafting still remains

629-526: The N-1M about its vertical axis, the aircraft had a tendency to " Dutch roll ." The oscillations proved to be manageable when adjustments were made to the aircraft's wing configuration. The N-1M proved to be basically sound, paving the way for Northrop's later and much larger Northrop YB-35 and YB-49 aircraft. The aircraft was donated to the United States Army Air Forces in 1945 and was placed in

666-458: The Northrop Corporation, serving as a test pilot. Early tests showed the N-1M to be satisfactory in stability and control, but overweight and underpowered. The aircraft's two 65-horsepower (48 kW) Lycoming O-145 four-cylinder engines (buried in the wing to reduce drag) were replaced by two 120-horsepower (89 kW) six-cylinder 6AC264F2 air-cooled Franklin engines. By November 1941, after 28 flights, Stephens reported that when attempting to move

703-623: The base of the CAD system. Many of these drawings are utilized to create structures, tools or machines. In addition, the drawings also include design specifications like dimensions, materials and procedures. Consequently, drafters may also be casually referred to as CAD operators, engineering draftspersons, or engineering technicians. With CAD systems, drafters can create and store drawings electronically so that they can be viewed, printed, or programmed directly into automated manufacturing systems. CAD systems also permit drafters to quickly prepare variations of

740-453: The central blended fuselage, which was made of tubular steel. The aircraft first flew on 3 July 1941 at Baker Dry Lake in California. Northrop's Chief Test Pilot Vance Breese flew the N-1M on its maiden flight, unexpectedly bouncing into the air during a planned high-speed taxi run. He reported that the aircraft could fly no higher than five feet. Flight could only be sustained by maintaining

777-504: The company for the next 30 years. He broke a decades-long silence on the Flying Wing's demise in a 1979 television interview, accusing the Air Force of killing the project to punish him for refusing to merge his company with Consolidated Vultee . He alleged that Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington threatened him by saying, "You’ll be goddamned sorry if you don’t". Symington later left

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814-643: The design of the Douglas Round-the-World-Cruiser and worked up to project engineer. In 1927 he rejoined the Loughead brothers and their newly founded (in 1926) Lockheed Aircraft Company , working as chief engineer on the Lockheed Vega , the civilian transport monoplane with a cantilever wing that produced unusually high performance for that period, and was widely used by such top pilots as Wiley Post , Amelia Earhart , and Hubert Wilkins . In 1929 he produced an all-metal monoplane with an engine within

851-399: The designs, plans, and layouts of engineers and architects into a set of technical drawings. Drafters operate as the supporting developers and sketch engineering designs and drawings from preliminary design concepts. In the past, drafters sat or stood at drawing boards and used pencils, pens, compasses , protractors , triangles, and other drafting devices to prepare a drawing by hand. From

888-558: The details of a structure. Some use their understanding of engineering and manufacturing theory and standards to draw the parts of a machine; they determine design elements, such as the numbers and kinds of fasteners needed to assemble the machine. Drafters use technical handbooks, tables, calculators, and computers to complete their work. Drafting work has many specialties such as: Drafters work in architectural offices, manufacturing companies, engineering firms, CAD-specific work-groups, construction companies, engineering consultancy firms,

925-440: The government to head the very same Consolidated Vultee company Northrop had refused to merge with. Symington called the charge "preposterous and absurd" and told a researcher "There was a tremendous overcapacity in the industry following World War II". He said Northrop came to him, seeking more business to help his struggling company. Symington said, "I may very well have suggested that he merge his company with Convair, who we knew

962-537: The government, natural resource companies or are independently self-employed. Drafting technologists and technicians often work as part of a broader multidisciplinary engineering team in support of engineers, architects or industrial designers or they may work on their own. The position of a drafter is one of a skilled assistant to architects and engineers. Drafters usually work in offices, seated at adjustable drawing boards or drafting tables when doing manual drawings, although modern drafters work at computer terminals much of

999-562: The low drag high lift concept inherent in the flying wing. NASA replied that the idea had technological merit, encouraging Northrop that his flying wing concepts had not been completely abandoned. By the late 1970s a variety of illnesses left him unable to walk or speak. Shortly before his death, he was given clearance to see designs and hold a scale model of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, which shared design features of his YB-35 and YB-49. The B-2, for example, has

1036-540: The overall manufacturing processes and of construction methods and standards. Technical expertise, a strong understanding of construction and the manufacturing process, and a solid knowledge of drafting and design principles are also important assets in becoming a drafter. In the modern job marketplace, in addition to technical skills enabling CAD drafters to draw up plans, soft skills are also crucial as CADD drafters have to communicate with clients and articulate their drawing plans in an effective way with fellow team members in

1073-477: The same 172-foot wingspan as the jet-powered flying wing, YB-49. Northrop reportedly wrote on a sheet of paper "Now I know why God has kept me alive for 25 years". B-2 project designer John Cashen said, "As he held this model in his shaking hands, it was as if you could see his entire history with the flying wing passing through his mind." He died ten months later. In 1947 he received the Spirit of St. Louis Medal from

1110-681: The storage collection of the National Air Museum the following year. It sat there for nearly three decades, but was brought back to static, non-flying status, in its final flight configuration, after several years of restoration during the 1980s. The N-1M is now on public display at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Data from American X&Y Planes General characteristics Performance Related development Jack Northrop John Knudsen Northrop (November 10, 1895 – February 18, 1981)

1147-676: The thick, all-wing blended fuselage . The aircraft had an open cockpit in the center wing section and single, rear-facing, pusher propeller connected to a Menasco Cirrus inverted-four piston engine blended into the all-wing shape. X-216H was first flown in 1929 with Edward Bellande at the controls; the aircraft displayed adequate performance and was noted for its unique all-metal stressed skin and multi-cellular construction. At about this same time, Jack Northrop became aware of Walter and Reimar Horten 's record-setting "tailless" flying wing glider designs being tested in Germany beginning in 1934. The N-1M

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1184-629: The time. They usually work in an office environment, but some may have to travel and spend time on manufacturing plants or construction sites. As drafters spend long periods in front of computers doing detailed technical work, they may be susceptible to eyestrain , back discomfort, and hand and wrist problems. Most drafters work standard 40-hour weeks; only a small number work part-time. High school courses in English, mathematics, science, electronics, computer technology, drafting and design , visual arts, and computer graphics are useful for people considering

1221-668: The wing structure. Although this aircraft had booms to attach the tail group, it was in fact the first step toward the flying wing. In 1929, Northrop struck out on his own, founding the Avion Corporation, which he was forced to sell to United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1930. In 1932, Northrop, backed by Donald Douglas of Douglas Aircraft, founded another company, the Northrop Corporation in El Segundo, California . This company built two highly successful monoplanes,

1258-593: Was an American aircraft industrialist and designer who founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939. His career began in 1916 as a draftsman for Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company (founded 1912). He joined the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1923 and worked on the Douglas World Cruiser , where in time he became a project engineer. In 1927 he joined the Lockheed Corporation , where he was

1295-475: Was going to get business." Aviation expert Bud Baker, who studied declassified documents and public records and conducted personal interviews with Symington, Air Force generals and Northrop's chairman, concluded the cancellation "was a sound decision, based on budgetary, technical, and strategic realities." Northrop dabbled in real estate and lost much of his personal fortune. In 1976, with his health failing, he felt compelled to communicate to NASA his belief in

1332-662: Was in working as a draftsman for the Santa Barbara-based Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company . After the outbreak of the First World War , Northrop was drafted into the U.S. Army , where he served in the Army Signal Corps . Northrop served in the military for six months before Loughead successfully petitioned for his return to work in the private sector. In 1923, Northrop joined Douglas Aircraft Company , where he participated in

1369-475: Was one of a progression of experimental aircraft that further developed Northrop's all-wing concept. The aircraft was produced in the United States and was developed during 1939 and 1940 as a flying testbed for the purpose of proving Jack Northrop's vision of a practical Flying Wing. Built mostly of specially laminated layers of glued wood, the design of both wooden wings allowed for easy configuration changes with

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