The Aviation Fever After The World War I - 1356 Words

James â€Å"Dutch† Kindelberger, a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, played a pivotal role in American aviation. Kindelberger was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1895, 20 years before the first heavier than air flight by the Wright brothers. After attending only one year of high school, Dutch dropped out to become a steel mill apprentice. After experiencing the brutal hard work of the steel mill, he decided to go back to school learn drafting at Carnegie Institute of Technology, which would prove to be a useful skill in his future in avionics. Kindelberger first caught the aviation fever after an ariel exhibition by the famous Lincoln Beachey in 1913. His flying fever led Dutch to become a pilot instructor in the Army during†¦show more content†¦As President of North American, Kindelberger would lead design in many military and civilian aircraft as well as make huge strides in rocket-powered aircraft, laying a foundation for the United States  "Space Race† with the USSR. Before his death in 1962 Kindelberger would see his foundation put an American in space. Although serving as an instructor in World War I, most of Kindelberger’s largest impacts came during the inter-war years and World War II. While working as a mid-tier draftsman and designer with the Martin Company, he helped with the design of the illustrious Martin Bombers which were a series of superior bombers used towards the end of World War I. The Martin Bombers had new some never before seen features such as closed cockpits, rotating guns and retractable landing gear as well as much more. The innovation in these planes changed the standards for bombers at the time thus leading to other bomber designs being obsolete. Then, with his experience at Martin, Kindelberger was able to move over to the Douglas Aircraft Company where his genius really began to shine through. With Douglas Kindelberger designed seventy one models for both military and ci vil use. One of his greatest accomplishments was the creation timeless DC series. Kindelberger’s great brain child, the DC-2, would be outshined by other aircraft in the DC family, but it still paved the way for commercial airliners. The DC-2 was one of the first airliners and would