Transcript Document

Exceptionally Plane People: Grumman
Aircraft Engineering Corporation
David Lednicer
December 7, 2013
How Grumman Aircraft Was Formed
16 Former Loening employees,
including:
Leroy Grumman ($16,950)
Bill Schwendler
Jake Swirbul ($8,125)
Edmund Ward Poor ($12,500)
Other backers:
E. Clinton Towl ($6,250)
Grover Loening ($25,000)
Albert Loening ($12,500)
An initial investment of $81,325
($1,145,423 in 2013 dollars)
Increased 7,700 fold in value by 1970
Timeline:
1917: Loening Aeronautical Engineering Co, 31 St at East River, New York NY
1928: Hayden, Stone and Company buys Loening
1928: Merged with Keystone Aircraft Corporation as Loening Aeronautical Div.
1929: Merged entity acquired by North American Aviation
1929: Keystone Manhattan factory closed and operations moved to Bristol, Pennsylvania
October 1929: The stock market collapses
January 2, 1930: Grumman Aircraft started in a rented garage in Baldwin (Long Island) NY
Grover Loening
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Born September 12th, 1888
Received first-ever aero engineering degree in the US, from
Columbia University in 1910
Queen Aeroplane Company in NYC, building Bleriots
Managed the Wright Company factory in Dayton, Ohio 19131914
• Designed the Wright Model G "Aeroboat“ flying boat
• Left after conflict with Orville concerning the Model C
Chief engineer for the US Army Aviation Section in San Diego
in 1914
VP and GM of the Sturtevant Aeroplane Company, 19151917
In 1917 formed the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corp.
• Won the Collier Trophy in 1921 for work on the Air Yacht
Sold company in 1928 and started consulting practice
Died February 29th, 1976
Leroy Grumman
• Born January 4th 1895 in Huntington, Long
Island NY
• Received engineering degree from Cornell
University in 1916
• Became US Naval Aviator #1216, despite poor
eyesight
• Stationed at the Loening factory in 1919 to
oversee construction of the Loening M-8
• Hired by Loening in 1920
• Test pilot
• Designer
• General Manager
• Designed the Loening retractable landing
gear
• Didn’t want to leave Long Island
Leroy Grumman
• Left Loening in 1929
• Mortgaged his house to start Grumman
Aviation, as the President
• Wanted to keep the company small, like a
family
• Designed the STO-Wing fold mechanism used
on the F4F Wildcat
• Personally led attempts to develop a general
aviation aircraft after World War II
• Flew until 1944
• Lost most of his eyesight due to a reaction
to a penicillin injection
• Retired as President in 1946, Chairman in
1966, retired from the board in 1972
• Died October 4th 1982
First Grumman Product
Amphib floats for US Navy,
based on Loening patents
Amphib Landing Gear Design
Loening XS2L-1 (1931)
Hand cranked on all
Grumman designs
Landing gear designed by Leroy
Grumman when he worked at Loening
Grumman Landing Gear Design
FF-1 (1931)
F2F (1933)
F3F (1936)
G-15 Duck (1936)
G-21 Goose (1937)
F4F (1937)
G-44 Widgeon (1941)
G-73 Mallard (1946)
G-111 Albatross (1949)
Grumman Wing Folding
F4F-3 wings do not fold
TBF wings fold aft
F4F-4, FM-1 and FM-2
wings fold aft
F7F outer wings fold up
(XF5F was similar)
F6F wings fold aft
F8F outer wings fold up
Grumman Sto-Wing Fold Still in Use
C-2C Greyhound
Leroy Grumman showing
his development model
E-2C Hawkeye
Bill Schwendler
• Born April 1st, 1904 in Farmingdale, Long Island
NY
• Received aero engineering degree from NYU in
1924
• Worked for Loening
• Co-founded Grumman (employee #10) and
served as:
• Chief engineer
• Executive vice-president
• Chairman of the Board
• Officially retired in 1950
• Led or participated in the design of every
Grumman aircraft through the F-14 Tomcat
• His philosophy of using a safety factor of 2
created the “Iron Works” reputation
• Died January 15th, 1978
Leon "Jake" Swirbul
• Born March 18th, 1898 in Manhattan NY
• Attended Cornell, but left during WWI to join the USMC
• Worked for Loening as shop superintendent
• Borrowed $6,000 from his mother to help co-found Grumman
(employee #2)
• Served as:
• Vice-president
• General Manager
• President (1946)
• Died June 28th, 1960
Robert Hall
• Born August 22nd, 1905 in Taunton,
Massachusetts
• Engineering degree from University of Michigan
in 1927
• Initially worked at Fairchild Aircraft in
Farmingdale NY
• Joined Granville Brothers Aircraft in 1929
• Designed the Gee Bee Z in 1931
• Flew the Gee Bee Z to victory in the General Tire
and Rubber Trophy race
• Founded Hall Aircraft in 1932
• Designed the Bulldog and Cicada, which raced in
1932
• Hired by Stinson in 1933 as experimental test
pilot
• Helped design and test Stinson SR Reliant
• Continued to race a Gee Bee Y
Robert Hall
• Hired by Grumman in 1936 as engineering test
pilot
• Made first flights of F4F Wildcat, G-21 Goose,
XP-50, F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat and F8F
Bearcat
• Became Chief Engineer in 1950 and Vice
President in 1954
• Instrumental in design of the F9F Panther,
F9F Cougar, F10F Jaguar, F11F Tiger and the
Gulfstream I
• Retired from Grumman in 1970
• Died February 25, 1991
Corwin “Corky” Meyer
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Born April 14th, 1920 in Springfield, Illinois
Joined Grumman as an experimental test pilot in
November 1942
At the time, he didn’t have a college degree and hadn’t
served in the military
Participated in flight testing of the F4F, TBF, F5F, F6F, F7F,
F8F, F9F, XF10F and F11F
Made first flights of the F9F Panther, XF10F Jaguar and
F11F Tiger
Later, served as:
• Director of Aircraft Development and Director of
Program Development (1960)
• Director of Flight Test (1965)
• Vice President (1967)
• Director of Manufacturing (1968)
• Senior Vice President (1972)
• President and CEO of Grumman American (1974)
Died June 1st, 2011
Julius Holpit
• Worked at Loening, Keystone and LWF
Aircraft
• Joined Grumman on the first day of
business as the 5th employee
• Led experimental manufacturing shop
• After the XF3F-1 crashed, during a
dive test, he led the building of
another prototype in six weeks
• After this airframe crashed, in a spin
test, they built another in 21 days
• One of Grumman’s first field reps
Dick Hutton
• Started as a mechanic at Loening in
1928
• Joined Grumman as the 21st employee
• Studied evenings to get his engineering
degree from the Pratt Institute in 1935
• Led the preliminary design of the F4F
Wildcat, TBF Avenger, F5F, XP-50, F6F
Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat, F9F
Panther, F9F Cougar, F11F Tiger,
Gulfstream I and Gulfstream II
• Active in the design of the F-14 Tomcat
• Retired in 1973
F8F First Sketch
Genesis of the F4F Wildcat
• Original design (G-16, XF4F-1) was
a biplane
• Lost to Brewster F2A Buffalo in
1936 US Navy competition
• Redesigned as a monoplane (G18, XF4F-2)
• XF4F-2 built in 1937 for US Navy
as a backup for the F2A
• After one more redesign (1939),
the XF4F-3 (G-36) was ordered by
the Armée de l'Air and the US
Navy
• More built by GM than Grumman
Development of the F6F Hellcat
• Started life as an improved F4F Wildcat
• The XF6F-1 prototype (G-50), powered by a two-speed, single-stage
supercharged Wright R-2600-10 Cyclone 14, first flew on June 26, 1942
• The XF6F-2 second prototype, powered by a turbocharged Wright R2600-16 Cyclone 14 flew soon thereafter
• The XF6F-3 third prototype, powered by a P&W two-speed two-stage
supercharged P&W R-2800-10 Double Wasp flew on July 30, 1942
• Production versions were the F6F-3 and F6F-5
XF6F-1
Development of the TBF Avenger
• Torpedo and level bomber
• First flown on August 7, 1941
• First prototype lost after just 25
hours of flight
• Crew of Hobart Cook and Gordon
Israel bailed out
• First public roll-out on December
7, 1941
• First saw combat on June 4, 1942
at the Battle of Midway
• Adapted for AEW and ASW
• In military service until 1960
• More were built by GM than
Grumman
Gordon Israel
• Born January 31st, 1911
• Only had a high school education in St. Louis
• Worked with Benny Howard, from 1929, to
design the DGA-3 Pete, DGA-4 Mike, DGA-5 Ike,
DGA-6 Mister Mulligan (copilot in 1935 Bendix
race), DGA-8 and DGA-18K
• At Curtiss Robinson designed the Kingbird
• In 1932 he designed, built and raced the
Redhead
• At Stinson, redesigned the Reliant, resulting in
the SR-9
Gordon Israel
• To Grumman in April 1941 to 1953
• Worked in flight test
• Helped design XP-50, XTBF-1, F7F, F8F, F9F
Panther and F9F Cougar
• Project engineer on the G-73 Mallard and
XF10F-1 Jaguar
• Joined Bill Lear in 1953
• Designed modifications to Lockheed
Lodestar, creating, the Learstar
• Helped design the Lear Jet 23
• Working with Alan Paulson, designed the AJI
Hustler
• Died December 1st, 1982
Grumman XF5F-1 Skyrocket
• One prototype (G-34) flown in April 1940
• Powered by two Wright R-1820-40/42 “handed”
engines
• The design was superseded by the larger F7F
Tigercat
Grumman XP-50
• Prototype (G-45), built for US Army Air Force, flown
in February 1941
• Powered by two Wright R-1820-67/69 “handed”
engines
• Pioneered nose landing gear configuration later used
on the F7F Tigercat
• Bob Hall bailed out after a supercharger explosion on
May 14th 1941 and the airplane was destroyed
Grumman F7F Tigercat
• XF7F-1 (G-51) first flown on November
2nd 1943
• Powered by two P&W R-2800-27,
production F7Fs powered by later
model R-2800s
• Unlike the XF5F-1 the engines were not
“handed”
• The aircraft was found to be deficient
in directional stability, so the vertical
tail was increased in size
• Design adapted as a land-based twoseat night fighter (F7F-2N and F7F-3N)
F7F Carrier Qualifications
• F7F-1 failed carrier suitability tests due to poor
single-engine characteristics (VMC was 160 kt, 35
kt above spec)
• F7F-3 developed to address these problems, but
also failed carrier suitability tests due to a
structural failure
• F7F-4 finally passed carrier qualifications
Carrier Qualifications
• Vought F4U Corsair failed carrier qualification trials in September
1942 and March 1943 due to numerous shortcomings including
poor stall characteristics, landing gear bounce, insufficient
directional control at low-speed, high-power conditions and poor
cockpit visibility on approach
• After further development the F4U Corsair passed carrier
qualification trials in April 1944
• P-51D was carrier qualified, but the US Navy did not like the
liquid-cooled engine
Grumman F8F Bearcat
• Designed to be a light-weight highly
maneuverable fighter similar in concept
to the Fw 190A, which Bob Hall flew in
1943
• First prototype XF8F-1 (G-58) flown in
August 1944
• Horizontal stabilizer span increased after
first flight due to insufficient longitudinal
stability
• Powered by a P&W R-2800-34W
• Inlets for oil coolers and engine
induction air located in the wing roots
• Plans existed for GM to produce Bearcats
under license as the F3M-1
• Two built by Grumman for civil use,
including one as Gulfhawk IV for Al
Williams
Bearcat Wing Tips
• Designed to break off under high loading conditions (8.6g)
• The goal was to reduce root bending moments 20% at
extreme conditions and save 230 lb of structural weight
• Proof of concept tests conducted on a modified F4F-4
• In service, the wing tips proved to be impractical
Effect of Break-Away Tip
300000
Full Span
Without Tips
Bendhing Moment (ft-lb)
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Buttline (inches)
140
160
180
200
220
Final Grumman Cats
F9F Panther
F9F Cougar
F10F Jaguar
F11F Tiger and
F12F Super Tiger
F-111B
F-14 Tomcat
Final Grumman Fighters
X-29A
Shenyang J-8II Peace Pearl
What They Accomplished
Grumman Production Per Year
Purchase of
American Aviation
7000
6000
5000
Sale of Grumman
American
4000
3000
2000
1000
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
1968
1966
1964
1962
1960
1958
1956
1954
1952
1950
1948
1946
1944
1942
1940
1938
1936
1934
1932
1930
0
Cumulative Grumman Production
35000
30000
World War II
25000
20000
Korean War
15000
10000
5000
0
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
What They Accomplished
Grumman Employement Per Year
40000
35000
In 1965 employment
surpassed WWII level
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Grumman Gross Sales
$4,000
$3,500
$3,000
Million Dollars
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
In 1953 gross sales
surpassed WWII level
$1,000
$500
$0
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Grumman Diversification
The End
• Grumman American Sold to American Jet Industries in
1978
• AJI became Gulfstream American and then Gulfstream
Aerospace
• Grumman boat and canoe division was sold to OMC in
1990
• In 1996, Marathon Boat Group purchasee the canoe and
boat operation from OMC, and resumed production
• Grumman was purchased by Northrop in 1994 for $2.1
billion to become part of Northrop Grumman
Where to See Them Locally
• The Museum of Flight has a FM-2
Wildcat in the Restoration Center
at Paine Field
• The Historic Flight Foundation has
a F7F-3 Tigercat and a F8F-2
Bearcat at Paine Field
• The Flying Heritage Collection has
a F6F-5 Hellcat at Paine Field
• A cut-away Wright R-1820 and
P&W R-2800 are on display in
the Personal Courage Wing at the
Museum of Flight
Conclusions
• Grumman was founded by a group of native
Long Islanders who didn’t want to leave
• Founders took a great financial risk
• One goal was to create a family company
• Hard work and innovation paid off
• Most of the initial leadership stayed with the
company for up to 50 years
• Diversification into business jets, truck bodies
and electronics persists to this day