Consultants and Experts

Irven Culver - Aerodynamics

Mr. Culver pointing to his modification of the wing leading edge in front of and outboard of the engine. Mr. Culver made similar modifications to the Lockheed SR-71.

Mr. Culver was the chief aerodynamicist for Lockheed's famous "Skunk Works" that designed top-secret military planes. He participated in the design of the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird", the fastest airplane in the world. He is known for creating the aerodynamic designs for dozens of aircraft, including the Lockheed P-38 of World War II fame, the U-2 "spy plane", the X-17 experimental rocket aircraft, the F-104 "Starfighter", and Lockheed transport aircraft. He holds patents in a number of aeronautical fields.

He participated in the design and refinement of the AvtekAir "Proof-of-Concept" test airplane and contributed to the 174 refinements to that plane that resulted in the AvtekAir 9000T production model. He was instrumental in reviewing the data from the Supercomputer analysis and from the NASA wind tunnel results and making aerodynamic refinements to the airplane. (Many of these are highly technical, such as modifying the pylon that holds the nacelle, moving the strake forward and putting a special lip on the leading edge below the forward part of the nacelle, thus capturing an aerodynamic advantage that he employed on the Lockheed SR-71). Mr. Culver, who made important contributions to the AvtekAir 9000T, is now deceased.

Ronald Fischer - DER Powerplant Installation

Ronald Fischer working on the engine installation of the P.O.C. aircraft

Ronald Fischer is a consulting engineer who is widely experienced in the design, testing and Certification of turbine power plant and fuel system installations on general aviation aircraft. He is a FAA Designated Engineering Representative for Powerplant Installation. Mr. Fischer has certificated 10 engine installations of the Pratt & Whitney PT6A engine for the FAA, the engine that will be used on the AvtekAir 9000T. He is the world's leading expert on the installation of this engine. Mr. Fischer has certificated the powerplant installations on the Cessna Citation I, the Learjet DH-125, and the Gulfstream I. He has made major design contributions to the DC-9, Boeing 727, 737 and 747, and the British Aerospace BA-146.

Ford Johnston - Aerodynamic Methodology

Mr. Johnston has been one of the foremost aerodynamicists in American aviation for 40 years. He was a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the forerunner of NASA. He was the Engineering Project Manager at Lockheed and Director of the NASA Wind Tunnel at Langley Air Force Base. He achieved international recognition for directing the experimental and analytical proof of the previously unknown whirl mode flutter phenomenon. This became known as the Johnston Theorem, now an aeronautical paradigm, and explained two mysterious accidents of the Lockheed Electra. Mr. Johnston directed the analysis and wind tunnel testing of two canard-configured aircraft for FAA Certification.

Like Mr. Culver, Mr. Johnston was instrumental in reviewing the data from the Cray supercomputer analysis and from the NASA wind tunnel results and making aerodynamic refinements to the airplane, such as the ratio of chord on the elevator. He will consult on future AvtekAir projects, including the Explorer.

George Alther - DER Composite Structures

Mr. Alther is an expert on aircraft structures. He holds the distinction of being the first FAA Designated Engineering Representative (DER) in composite structures. He was the first engineering manager to have certificated an all-composite airplane. He is now employed by General Dynamics in composite structure engineering.

Mr. Alther did the design, engineering and structure load distribution analysis for the AvtekAir "Proof-of-Concept" test airplane and the AvtekAir 9000T. This insures that all of the parts of the airplane will not have structural failure under FAA-specified load requirements. These include the canard, fuselage, graphite spars and spar caps bonded to a Nomex honeycomb with Kevlar stress skins; the vertical stabilizer and the anchoring of the vertical stabilizer to the fuselage; etc. Mr. Alther will be the FAA DER for composite structures for the Certification of the AvtekAir 9000T, conducting all flutter and static load tests on the structure for Certification.

Leonard Marchinski - Composite Structure Manufacturing; Consulting DER, Composite Structures

Mr. Marchinski was Director of Structures Technology at Boeing Vertol during the development of the Boeing 360 Helicopter that set the world speed record for heavy helicopters. He is an expert on composite structures and their fabrication and manufacture. He is a Consultant for DuPont and Boeing and several aerospace companies, as well as a Consulting DER for the FAA. He is considered one of the world's leading authorities on the manufacture of composite structures for aircraft.

Mr. Marchinski advised AvtekAir on the manufacture of composite parts for the "Proof-of-Concept" test airplane.

Al Mooney - Design

Al Mooney (left) and Edgar Schmued (of P-51 Mustang fame) discussing the AvtekAir aircraft

The original conceptual design configuration for the AvtekAir 9000T aircraft was developed by Al Mooney, the legendary founder of Mooney Aircraft Company and one of the pioneers of aviation design. Mr. Mooney was responsible for such revolutionary advances as the retractable landing gear, and his designs Alexander Bullett, Culver Dart and Cadet, Mooney Mite and Mooney Mark 20 Series are among the most famous private planes in aviation history. Mr. Mooney spent his last years at Lockheed's Georgia facility, supervising such projects as the turbojet VTOL Hummingbird. Al Mooney died May 7, 1986 in Dallas, TX, a few weeks after his eightiest birthday.

"As the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission stated, Mooney's ... persistence and vision resulted in the production of the highest performance single engine aircraft ever manufactured, while the trademark Mooney forward-swept tail remains instantly recognizable at airports the world over."

Dr. Leo Windecker - Composite Structures & Design

Dr. Leo Windecker (left) & test pilot Richard Sliff in front of the P.O.C. aircraft

Dr. Windecker certified the world'S first all composite aircraft in 1970, the Windecker Eagle. He is one of the foremost experts in composite aircraft construction. He started out as a dentist and professor of bacteriology at the University of Texas. In 1957, he joined the Dow Chemical Company where he became involved in composite research. In the late 1960s, he pioneered 'plastic' aircraft construction with the design of the Eagle, a single engine piston aircraft which for decades held the distinction of possessing the only FAA type certificate issued for a composite aircraft. Dr. Windecker was with the project right from the start to inject his vast expertise in composite technology acquired while working for the Dow Chemical Co., which resulted in dozens of patents in the field of composite technology.

Other Aviation Consultants

Many other distinguished aviation consultants have contributed to the development of the AvtekAir 9000T. These people are leaders in polymer chemistry, basic load analysis, airfoil selection, vibration and flutter analysis, advanced composite materials, sandwich structures and their construction, bonding materials, stress testing, Cray supercomputer design analysis, lightning strike effects, avionics and electrical systems, flight analysis, landing gear development, test flight operations, master modeling systems, tooling and fabrication, and other disciplines required to design, test and produce the AvtekAir 9000T aircraft.