Paul Bikle
Encyclopedia
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
X-15 rocket plane, and also was a world record setting glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
pilot.
Civilian career
Before graduating from the University of Detroit in 1939 with a B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering, Bikle's activity in the student chapter of the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (IAS), and the school glidingGliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
and flying club
Flying club
A flying club or aero club is a not for profit, member run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft.Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and associated services, as well as organizing social functions, fly-ins and...
, led to flight instruction and a pilot's license from the C.A.A., the predecessor to the FAA. He later became a fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
, the successor to the IAS. Mr. Bilke worked for Taylorcraft Aircraft
Taylorcraft Aircraft
-Bibliography:* Fromow, Lt-Col. D.L. Canada's Flying Gunners, Air Observation Post Pilot's Association, Ottawa, Canada. 2002. ISBN 0973005505* Simpson, R.W Airlife's General Aviation, Airlife Publishing, England, 1991. ISBN 1 85310 104 X-External links:...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
before beginning his government service career.
Air Force career
His career with the U.S. Air Force began in 1940 when he was appointed an aeronautical engineer at Wright FieldWright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
. In 1944 he was named Chief of the Aerodynamies Branch in the Flight Test
Flight test
Flight test is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops and gathers data during flight of an aircraft and then analyzes the data to evaluate the flight characteristics of the aircraft and validate its design, including safety aspects...
Division there. While working closely with other government agencies in establishing the first flying qualities specifications for aircraft, he also wrote AAF Technical Report 50693 Flight Test Methods, which was used as a standard manual for conducting flight tests for more than five years. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years he was involved in more than 30 test projects and flew over 1,200 hours as an engineering observer.
In 1947, Bikle was appointed Chief of the Performance Engineering Branch, and directed tests of the XB-43 Jetmaster
XB-43 Jetmaster
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Jones, Lloyd. U.S. Bombers. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1974. ISBN 0-8168-9126-5.* O'Leary, Michael, ed. "America's First Jet Bomber" America's Forgotten Wings, Volume 1, 1994, pp. 66–75....
, the first U.S. jet bomber; the Convair XC-99
Convair XC-99
The Convair XC-99, 43-52436, was a prototype heavy cargo aircraft built by Convair for the United States Air Force. It was the largest piston-engined land-based transport aircraft ever built, and was developed from the B-36 bomber, sharing the wings and some other structures with it...
, and the F-86A Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
. With the transfer of this part of the flight test mission to the newly formed Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, he advanced to Assistant Chief of the Flight Test Engineering Laboratory in 1951.
NASA career
Paul Bikle was technical director of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
in September 1959, when he was named Director of the NASA Flight Research Center (FRC) at Edwards, California. In July, 1962, he was awarded the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership for his part in directing flight operations and research activities on the highly successful rocket-powered X-15 program. After Paul's retirement on May 31, 1971, The FRC became the Dryden Flight Research Center
Dryden Flight Research Center
The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...
in 1976.
During his nearly 12 years with NASA he was responsible for several major aeronautical research programs, including those involving the X-15, the supersonic XB-70, the fleet of wingless lifting bodies that contributed to development of the Space Shuttles, and the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle that paved the way for successful Moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
s by Project Apollo
Project Apollo
The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
astronauts.
Just before 1961 Christmas Paul Bikle gave directive to Charles Richard
Charles Richard
Charles Richard was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. Born in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Quebec, he was a dental surgeon by career....
to quickly and cheaply design and build what would become the template for wing used for 'Standard Rogallo' hang gliders in modern hang gliding. Following such directive and successful test flying of the paraglider research vehicle
Paresev
The Paresev was an experimental NASA glider aircraft based upon the kite-parachute studies by NASA engineer Francis Rogallo....
and more versions, hundreds craftspeople made their own hang gliders with various fuselage solutions including the use of the Gottlob Espenlaub: see 'Espenlaub 11' for his 1921 hang glider triangle control bar solution (side-struted or cabled), parallel-bar solution, full-cockpit solution, trike solutions, powered-pilot solutions, and even a no-fuselage hanging-pilot solution. Paul Bikle's directive synergistically birthed a wing that would dramatically change personal aviation in powered and unpowered realms.
Soaring
Bikle was a veteran of 23 years of soaringLift (soaring)
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust. It is employed by gliding animals and by aircraft such as gliders. The most common human application of gliding flight is in sport and recreation using aircraft designed for this purpose...
, and was president of the Soaring Society of America
Soaring Society of America
The Soaring Society of America was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw-Hill building on February 20, 1932. Its first objective was to hold a national soaring...
(SSA). He established two world soaring records on February 25, 1961 while flying his Schweizer SGS 1-23E
Schweizer SGS 1-23
The Schweizer SGS 1-23 is a United States Open and Standard Class, single-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York....
near Lancaster, California
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
, achieving an altitude of 46,267 feet and a total-altitude-gained mark of 42,300 feet. Both marks were certified by the National Aeronautic Association
National Aeronautic Association
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States is a non-profit 501 organization and a member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , the international standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. NAA is the official record-keeper for United States...
, and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
. Bikle still holds the record for gain in height. He flew a Prue Standard
Prue Standard
|-See also:...
to a world record distance of 557 mi (896 km) in 1963, the longest ever made by a sailplane up to that date. He became a member of the Soaring Hall of Fame
Soaring Hall of Fame
The Soaring Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made the highest achievements in, or contributions to, the sport of soaring in the United States of America. It has been located at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, since 1975...
in 1960 and was awarded the FAI Lilienthal Gliding Medal
Lilienthal Gliding Medal
Lilienthal Gliding Medal – the highest soaring award in the world, established by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1938 in honor of Otto Lilienthal, a German pioneer of human aviation. It aims "to reward a particularly remarkable performance in gliding, or eminent services to the sport of...
, the highest award in international soaring, in 1962.
While director of the Dryden Flight Research Facility, Bikle designed and completed his own sailplane, the Bikle T-6
Bikle T-6
|-See also:...
, flying it to fifth place in the 1970 US Nationals.
Other soaring accomplishments
- Barringer TrophyBarringer TrophyThe Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy was established by the will of Lewin Barringer in 1948. The original rules specified that the trophy would be awarded for the longest distance soaring flight from any type of launching method other than airplane tow...
1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956 - U.S. Diamond badge #3 (International #7) 1953;
- Symons Three Lennie award #11
- Eaton Trophy 1964
- Tissandier Diploma 1968
- Tuntland Award 1970, 1971
- OSTIV Plaque/Klemperer Award 1972
- World/National Competition
- Smirnoff Derby
- Sailplane Performance Studies/Tests