Last Tuesday evening Dad passed away at age 88. He was as was his father a life long Studebaker devotee. From grandfather's Speedway President and all his Presidents and Land cruisers to Dads 1951 baby blue Commander Convertible, the Packard 352 engined Connestoga, the 59 Lark wagon with Hawk engine to the 62 GT with a dealer installed r5 build up engine for my moms everyday car He was as am I a Studebaker man.
Those little wires for defrost in your rear window were one of his inventions. He was a NACA (predecessor of NASA) emplyee on recall to the navy during the Korean war. Air boss at the station in the calif. desert. then the fighter canopies started shattering from the 120 degree F temps in the shade on the deck, he came up with a plan. He went up to Hughes Aircraft where a couple of other NACA guys were on recall to navy duty at Hughes. they made up a couple of sandwich able canopies and then went next door to Toastmaster and got some toaster wire. Put it all together and hooked up a big old toggle switch with a truck battery in the cockpit. Preheat the canopies and they did not shatter from the desert heat. No patents as NACA like NASA inventions belong to the public. He had many others like the racing NACA duct originally developed to cool the transmission In the rotor tower of a Sikorsky helicopter around 1949 or so. Final development and wind tunnel testing was done at NACA after he drew the thing on a paper napkin for a co-worker. AS to helcopters he was a founding member of the Helicopter society and Frank Piaseki was my godfather. Grew up with dad at Kaman helicopter and aerospace and Bill Kaman as a good friend. Dad Helped create Ovation Instruments which was at first a "research" division of Kaman Aerospace. So got to meet Glen Cambell, John Hartford, Josh White and others while a teenager in the 60s.
Just thought it would be appropriate to share his passing and his and Grandfathers life long Studebaker loyalty.
chase
3rd gen studie man
Those little wires for defrost in your rear window were one of his inventions. He was a NACA (predecessor of NASA) emplyee on recall to the navy during the Korean war. Air boss at the station in the calif. desert. then the fighter canopies started shattering from the 120 degree F temps in the shade on the deck, he came up with a plan. He went up to Hughes Aircraft where a couple of other NACA guys were on recall to navy duty at Hughes. they made up a couple of sandwich able canopies and then went next door to Toastmaster and got some toaster wire. Put it all together and hooked up a big old toggle switch with a truck battery in the cockpit. Preheat the canopies and they did not shatter from the desert heat. No patents as NACA like NASA inventions belong to the public. He had many others like the racing NACA duct originally developed to cool the transmission In the rotor tower of a Sikorsky helicopter around 1949 or so. Final development and wind tunnel testing was done at NACA after he drew the thing on a paper napkin for a co-worker. AS to helcopters he was a founding member of the Helicopter society and Frank Piaseki was my godfather. Grew up with dad at Kaman helicopter and aerospace and Bill Kaman as a good friend. Dad Helped create Ovation Instruments which was at first a "research" division of Kaman Aerospace. So got to meet Glen Cambell, John Hartford, Josh White and others while a teenager in the 60s.
Just thought it would be appropriate to share his passing and his and Grandfathers life long Studebaker loyalty.
chase
3rd gen studie man