Inv. Inventors and Inventions

Abstract

Dr. Hans von Ohain was the co-inventor of the first successful jet engine. After World War II, he moved to Dayton, Ohio where he was a research scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. His papers contain patents, correspondence, speeches, technical reports, scientific articles, awards, and photographs. Some documents are in German and French, but the majority of the collection is in English.

Abstract Sir Frank Whittle invented the jet propulsion engine, proposing the use of the gas turbine for jet propulsion in 1928. He patented his idea in 1930. The first jet aircraft flew in 1941. Whittle's engine technology was shared with the United States government and became the foundation for the American jet aircraft program. The papers in the collection document Whittle's invention of the jet engine and include correspondence, technical and design reports, photographs, charts, and engineering...

Abstract

Professional and personal correspondence of Dr. Fritz J. Russ while Chief of the Missile Guidance and Control Group, Air Technical Intelligence Center, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the early 1950s.

Abstract

The Vincent G. Apple Papers is a collection of work and administrative records for Vincent G. Apple, a Dayton inventor. The collection contains numerous patents, patent applications, engineering drawings, journals, legal agreements and correspondence, business records and correspondence, and the Ford Trial records.

Abstract Levitt Luzern Custer was a Dayton-area aviator and inventor, and an associate of Orville Wright. During his lifetime he engaged in pioneering balloon experiments, served as an official timer for flight trials, collaborated with Orville Wright on various projects, and invented a wide range of mechanical machines from the statoscope to amusement park rides. The collection documents many of Custer's achievements as well as those of other early aviators, such as the Wright Brothers. Information...

Abstract

The purpose of the Engineers' Club of Dayton is to advance the field of engineering through furnishing facilities for the educational and professional improvement of its members. Requirements for membership include working in the field of engineering or other work related to engineering, science, technology, and allied arts. The records include meeting minutes, membership files, financial records, publications, correspondence, photographs, film, and reports.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains two photos of an airplane designed and built by Charles Snyder of Osborn (now part of Fairborn), Ohio, plus an article about Fairfield and Osborn (combined to form Fairborn).

Abstract

The International Aero Vehicle Company was incorporated in 1906 for the purpose of acquiring patents for the Charles Oliver Jones "orthopter" (ornithopter). The collection consists of 1 volume, including Articles of Incorporation, Constitution and By-Laws, meeting minutes, and assorted financial and administrative reports.

Abstract This collection consists of photographs, negatives, and documents generated by the Dayton Daily News and the former Journal Herald in the twentieth century. The newspaper was founded by James M. Cox, a three-term Ohio governor and presidential candidate. The archive documents the local and regional history of Dayton and the Miami Valley in Ohio and its role on a national scale, particularly during the period 1930 to 1980. This history serves as a rich example of American ingenuity and...

Abstract

The Cold War Aerospace Technology Oral History Project primarily contains oral histories gathered from several workers in the field of Aerospace Technology during the Cold War (1946-1992). With few exceptions, the interviewees were all engineers and worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on projects ranging from stealth and fly-by-wire technology to jet propulsion and foreign intelligence gathering, etc.