National Air and Space Museum Archives

Fred E. Weick Autobiographical Transcripts

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.0425
Creators:
Weick, Fred E., 1899-1993
Dates:
1899-1984
bulk 1949-1957
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.3 Cubic feet
1 legal document box
Repository:
Aeronautical engineer Fred E. Weick (1899-1993) had a profound effect on light aircraft development. He was responsible for the development of NACA's low-drag cowling for radial engines, introduced the concept of "fifty foot obstacle clearance" as a measure of aircraft take-off performance, and was instrumental in the development of several aircraft, including the Piper Pawnee and Piper Cherokee.

Scope and Content

Scope and Content
This collection consists of transcripts of Weick's dictation for this autobiography, published as
From the Ground Up: Autobiography of an Aeronautical Engineer
(Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988). A copy of this book can be found in the Smithsonian Library at the National Air and Space Museum.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Aeronautical engineer Fred E. Weick (1899-1993) had a profound effect on light aircraft development. While working for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) he developed the NACA low-drag cowling for radial engines (1928) and built a low landing speed aircraft as an independent project sparked by a series of light aircraft design seminars at NACA's Langley Research Center (1931). He introduced the concept of "fifty foot obstacle clearance" as a measure of aircraft take-off performance, which remains a standard measure today. In 1936 he joined Henry Berliner at the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) to develop and market a commercial version of Weick's aircraft. Although the resulting Ercoupe faded in the general aviation slump following World War II, Weick moved to Texas A&M (1948-56) where he developed a series of agricultural aircraft which evolved into the Piper Pawnee series. He remained at Piper until he retired (1956 to c. 1970) and developed the Piper Cherokee with John Thorpe and Karl Bergey. After retirement, Weick remained active in aeronautics, assisting in design studies for Beech Aircraft as well as undertaking private projects in aircraft trim and control.

Administration

Author
Kate Igoe
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Fred E. Weick, gift, 1984, XXXX-0425
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Kate Igoe, 1997.
Encoded by Amanda Buel, 2014.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Conditions Governing Access note
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Fred E. Weick Autobiographical Transcripts, Acc. XXXX-0425, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

More Information


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diaries Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Piper PA-25 Pawnee Family Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beech Aircraft Family Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beech Aircraft Corp Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Erco (Engineering and Research Corporation) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Weick, Fred E., 1899-1993 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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