SJ30-2 Design Engineer, Sino Swearingen Aircraft Company
Tag: Liaison Engineer
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, Comm Mods
Performed avionics/antenna modifications on the Cessna A-37 “Dragonfly” in Tucson, Arizona, with A.E.S. for U.S. Air Force and Flight Test Associates. The light attack aircraft evolved from the USAF T-37 “Tweet” trainer. Stronger wings, wing pylons, tip tanks, machine gun, better avionics, and tougher landing gear led to the A-37 configuration. Preceded by the T-6 Texan in its attack/counterinsurgency role, the Dragonfly was also used in a Euro-NATO joint training project. It was first used for counterinsurgency in Vietnam. The similarly named T-6 Texan II would later replace T-37 trainers.
Air National Guard, Special Forces Ops, and Reserves continued to use both models into late 80s, in part due to their simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness for insurgent warfare. Of the over 600 A-37 aircraft built, only nine remain on the FAA aircraft registry.
BAC 1-11 Aircraft Design Engineer
Among the now-obsolete aircraft that I once had the privilege to work on is the BAC One-Eleven. It was produced produced in small numbers (244) by British Aircraft Corporation from 1963–1982 in the UK, and later until 1989 in Romania. This twin-engine jet resembles the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, a widely used airliner produced in greater numbers (976) from 1965–1982.
Dee Howard Company, founded in 1964 and known for its head-of-state aircraft modifications and thrust reversers, embarked on a project to re-engine the BAC 1-11 with Rolls Royce Tay engines. In collaboration with Schwartz Engineering Company and Avionics Engineering Services, the prototype aircraft also underwent interior modifications, an electrical system retrofit, and modernization of its instrument panel. The updated BAC 1-11 was to be sold for corporate/private use and additional airframes were to follow. But in April 1997, Alenia Aeronautica of Italy with its controlling ownership in Dee Howard withdrew backing of the project after significant work had progressed in the certification program.
Despite the smaller numbers, the BAC 1-11 was sought after as an available and affordable airframe. I worked on other BAC 1-11 units including an interior project with Pyka Design for Chrysler Corporation, also on the electrical systems of a BAC 1-11-400 for H&M Holdings Ltd. undergoing instrument panel and avionics rack retrofits and antenna installations. On a third BAC 1-11, operated by Lukenbill Enterprises for the transport of the Sacramento Kings NBA team, I worked with the design team at Gary Aerospace in Hondo, Texas on interior modifications and structural installations.
British Aerospace Aviation Services Filton
Among the now decommissioned places that I worked at are British Aerospace Aviation Services Filton in Bristol, England. The manufacture of aeroplanes started here in 1910, and the Concorde called Bristol home prior to closure of the airport in 2012.
I led an engineering project to retrofit a fleet of Airbus A300 aircraft at British Aerospace Aviation Services. Our team provided engineering analysis and structural substantiation to GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) on Airbus A300 modifications and interior components for charter operations.
Dexter Express People Mover Study
Orbis Flying Eye Hospital Design Engineer
Worked as liaison and design engineer on the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, the organization’s second generation aircraft. Medical and teaching facilities outfitted on the DC-10 aircraft bring training to doctors and nurses in developing countries. Equipped with a flight deck, classroom, technology center, and operating/treatment/recovery rooms, the flying eye hospital allows staff and volunteers travel to remote locations worldwide to complete their mission of treating and preventing vision loss.
In 2022, a retired Orbis Flying Eye Hospital became part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Jet Aviation – Russian Presidential Jet
Worked as liaison and design engineer on the Russian Presidential Jet—the state aircraft of Boris Yeltsin. The Ilyushin Il-96 quadjet was equipped with stateroom and private bath including bidet and shower. Avionics were crude and outdated, lacking modern (at the time) solid state electronics. This was the first of five jumbo aircraft in the Russian presidential fleet and would serve for more than 30 years.
Continental Express – Denver Stapleton International Airport
Decommissioned places… Continental Airlines maintenance facility at Stapleton International Airport
I was tasked with surveying a fleet of Continental Express DHC-7 “Dash-7” four-engine turboprop aircraft for avionics equipment (MLS & VOR/ILS) installations, working with Avionics Engineering Services of Tucson, Arizona.
It was 1993, and Denver Stapleton was still the principal airport in Denver. The new DIA, two years from opening, was wrought with delays, though not on the scale of the record breaking Berlin Brandenburg Airport.
Work was performed in one of two 1930s, massive wood framed hangars housing Continental’s Denver Modification Center. The structures were fascinating architecturally, impressive in their timber construction, however unrelentingly cold. Originally, the buildings were used for air mail processing.
During WW2, Stapleton was used by the Air Transport Command and, in 1944, stored B-17 bombers on the field. The site later became a base for both United and Continental Airlines after relocating from El Paso, Texas. Last flights at Stapleton took place in 1995.
BAe 146 / AVRO RJ85 Liaison Engineer
Another nearly obsolete aircraft I’ve worked on is the BAe 146 designed and manufactured by British Aerospace. In the early 90s, I journeyed to the Air Wisconsin facility in Appleton on my first of many visits to the state. While there, I surveyed Satcom/ADF antenna locations for a SelCal (Selective Calling) system installation on an Italian BAe 146 charter airliner (Meridiana* if memory serves me) as a liaison engineer for Avionics Engineering Services, Schwartz Engineering Company, and Airworks.
The BAe 146 made its first flight in 1981, and is renown as the most successful British civil jet airliner program. In the U.S., a 70-seat version was operated as United Express, a.k.a. regional airliner Air Wisconsin, and hence the maintenance ops base here. Production of an improved version began in the U.K. in 1992 under the Avro RJ moniker. All BAe 146 / Avro RJ production halted in 2002, after approximately 387 (394) aircraft had been produced. A conversion, popularized by the U.S. Forest Service and Canadian firefighters, sees Avro RJ and BAe 146 presently being used as airtankers.
I would return to Appleton many times over the next two decades participating activities at EAA AirVenture in nearby Oshkosh. I would also visit the BAe 146 fuselage production site in Filton, UK, although for work on Airbus A300 modifications. The BAe 146 was produced as a “feederliner” designed and built to be “as simple as possible.” Oddly, the area where antennas were to be added was a labyrinth of structure. The quadjet was a candidate for numerous engine, fuselage, and operational modifications, which is common among proven airframes when their worth outlasts their equipment.
*Meridiana was established under the name Alisarda in 1963, by Aga Khan Prince Karim Al Hussaini with the aim of promoting tourism in Sardinia. The name was changed to Meridiana in 1991, the same year the company began its BAe 146 operations. The airline operated as Air Italy until 2020.
Lockheed P-3B Orion Airborne Laboratory
One enduring aircraft that I worked on is the Lockheed Martin P-3B Orion, a four-engine turboprop surveillance aircraft developed for the U.S. Navy in the 1960s. Operated by NASA at Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, this ex-U.S. Navy aircraft was used for low altitude heavy lift airborne science missions. It was modified to support passive microwave instruments, such as NOAA’s Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer, NASA’s 2-DSTAR, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s polarimetric scatterometer instruments.
Modifications to the P-3B were performed for NAVAIR, the U.S. Navy’s Air Systems Command. At that time its purpose was “weather collection.” A later model, P-3C, was used in anti-submarine warfare patrol. Missions included surveillance of the battle space, at sea and over land. The P-3 Orion excelled at specialized tasks due in part to its long range and long loiter time. The project was in collaboration with Avionics Engineering Services of Tucson, Arizona, and Associated Air Center in Dallas, Texas.
Today, P-3s are being replaced by Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, a twin turbofan derivative of the Boeing 737-800 airliner. The P-3 Orion operated successfully for over 50 years, and by some accounts was the “perfect plane” for multi-mission roles.