August Raspet

Dr. August "Gus" Raspet (24 August 1913 – 27 April 1960) was one of the most influential contributors to the science of aeronautics, dealing primarily with efficiency in flight, aerodynamics and wing design structures. His contributions to the field of flight science are many, having published over forty scholarly articles on subjects ranging from human muscle-powered flight to sailplane performance analysis as it relates to airplanes.[1] An avid bird watcher, Raspet developed his dedication to the idea of flight from a young age and would use ideas generated from observing avian flight in his experiments and research throughout his career.

Biography

August "Gus" Raspet was born in Irwin, Pennsylvania on 24 August 1913. He had earned his B.S. in Physics by 1935 when he accepted a Civil Service Position as Junior Physicist. Around October 1938, he began his graduate studies at the University of Maryland while still working as a Junior Physicist. He was granted his M.S. in Physics in 1940 and would earn his Ph.D. in 1942, also at the University of Maryland. His dissertation covered instruments for measuring magnetic fields in the Earth. The same year as his graduation, he accepted a position as a Research Physicist for the Gould Aeronautical Division of Pratt Read and Co., located in Deep River, Connecticut. He resigned from this position a year later when he accepted another job as Research Physicist of Specialties, Inc. in Syosset, New York. During his stead at Specialties, Inc. he became the Director of Research of the Soaring Society of America (The August, 1960 edition of which is entirely dedicated to Raspet) for the glider phase of Project Thunderstorm. By 1947, Raspet became President and Director of Research at the Aerophysic Institute, Inc. for their study of air flow over an extended ridge. This project was funded by the Office of Naval Research. In 1949, Raspet became the Sailplane Projects Leader for the Engineering Station at Mississippi State College. From 1953 until his untimely death in 1960, he served as Head of the Aerophysics Department at Mississippi State College (now Mississippi State University). To this day, the Flight Research Laboratory at MSU is named for him.[2]

On 27 April 1960, Dr. Raspet was involved in a plane crash during a demonstration of a Piper Cub with boundary layer modifications at Starkville, Mississippi's Bryan Field Airport.[3] He died at the scene and was survived by his wife and three children.[4]

Contributions

Raspet's most extensive work in aeronautics was in boundary layer control. Through several experiments involving laminar friction curve and high-lift boundaries, Dr. Raspet made several breakthroughs regarding sailplanes that would later factor into the technology that would allow the development of personal aircraft.

List of Notable Published Scholarly Articles[2]

The Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award

Because of Raspet's contribution to aeronautical science, a prestigious award has been named in his memory. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), beginning in 1960, has awarded yearly the Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award to a person who has made significant advancements in the field of light aircraft design. According to the EAA Airventure site, "The first recipient of the award was John Thorp, Lockheed engineer on the Little Dipper and Big Dipper, and designer of the Thorp Aviation Sky Skooter. Since then the list of people honored reads like a Who's Who of aircraft design." [5]

List of Recipients

References

  1. ↑ "Soaring August 1960: Cover". Soaringweb.org. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  2. 1 2 "Soaring August 1960: Page 11". Soaringweb.org. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  3. ↑ Sport Aviation. August 1960. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "Raspet designated national soaring landmark (Mississippi State University)". Msstate.edu. 2003-10-10. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  5. ↑ "August Raspet Memorial Award". Airventure.org. Retrieved 2012-06-09.

External links

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