NA SA I\.eronautics Career of John P.

Jnly 7, 1982 (Ja ck) Reede r

( Prepared for EAA reco r,nition of Dist in guishe d NASA Ae ronautical Researchers at Oshko sh, Au gust, 1982 )

John P . (Ja ck) Reeder is a n a tive of the Upp e r Peninsula of Mich­

i gan. He was born in 1916 in Houghton, in the Copper Country, some

215 mi le s , as the crow flies, due north of Oshkosh. His father was a

mining en gineer. Vlhil e li vinl! ou t si d e of Sudbury, On tari 0 ., in 1923-1924 h is aviation intere s t was k indl e d by ob s erving the ~~ Curtiss

twin- engine biplane flyin g bo a t s dr oning ove rhe a..ft low al ti tude on

f ores t fire patrol. The ob s erve r oft en waved to him from the former

gunne r's cockpit in the bow.

Ba ck in the Upper Peninsula in St amb au gh in the Iron Country,

a irp l anes were scarce. By the time he wa s in Stambaugh High School,

Ree der decided he wanted to become an engineering test pilot, followin g

engineering school and Navy fli ght t raining. He p l a yed end on the

Upper Peninsula championship footb all team of 1933. At the University of Michi gan h e joine d the Glider Club for one

ye a r and soloe d in a Fran k lin glide r in 19 36 on hi s first tow (by truc ].:: ),

albeit u nintentiona lly, as he was preoccupied with rudder control.

During his ae ronautic a l enginee ring course he wa s elected to Ta u Beta Pi.

Re cruited by NACA as a Junior Aeronautica l Eng ineer in 1938 for

employment by June 1, his professors Here so enthusiastic they wa ived his

exams. He intended to stay only tvlO year s b efore applying for Navy fl ight

training. In his first interview a t NACA he expressed interest in fli ght

r esearch but Has assi gn ed to t he Full-Scale I'lind Tunnel staff instead.

Abe Silverstein (~ s o selected as a Distinguished NASA Aeronautical

Rese archer) was second in charge of the Tunnel a t that time. The thre a t

of war wa s h an g ing over Euro p e. For the next four years Reeder took

part in fund amenta l wind tunnel resear ch, interspersed with investigations

t o improve speed, stability a nd control, and engine cooling of full-sc ale

military airplanes.

No a irplanes were avail able on t h e Virginia Peninsula for flight

instruction when Reeder arri ved, but i n the f a ll of 1938 he began in s t ruc­

tion in a J-3 Cub a t about $3 .00 per hour, and received a Priva te Pilo t 's

lic ense in the s~~er of 1939.

A feH of the o l d timers a t N.4 CA h a d bui lt, modified and/or olmed

their olm a irp l anes. Reeder a nd a p a rtner became OHners of one of these,

a 1930 Monocoupe 90, NC 179K, with Lambert eng ine a nd Townend - ring cowl,

in 1939 an d opera ted it until the war wa s a bout to close priva te flyin g dOvm , 1\'hen it 1'1 8. S sold to Jim Roye of Re public on Long Island.

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Th~ Monocoupc operation was marred by a crosswind landing accident

that Reed'er had,. He now owns a 1937-bui1t Monocoupe 90AL-125, N18054,

which is approaching flight status after several years of rework.

With the building and staffing of two new NACA Laboratories and

the beginning of war, the staff of NACA research pilots dwindled and the

sources dried up. Melvin Gough, the Head of NACA Flight Operations at

the time, obtained authorization to select and train willing and qualified

candidates from the NACA engineering staff. Reeder was one of two

initially accepted into the program, and he transferred to the pilot staff

of the Flight Research Division in October 1942 with 168 hours in 9 light

airplane types. In his first full year as an NACA pilot, 1943, he flew

19 new aircraft types, 9 of which were fighters.

Reeder's first fighter was the XP-42, a P-36 variant, which was

used by NACA for advanced cowling and all-moving horizontal tail research.

His first project assignment was part of a Navy-sponsored stability and

control investigation with a Brewster XSBA-1 dive bomber. Characteristics

were changed by physical changes to the aircraft. Today we would use

electronic systems to simulate varying phYSical characteristics.

Reeder contributed as a research pilot for about 25 years, during

which time he became Head of Flight Operations in 1952 and, in 1963,

Assistant Chief ~f the Flight Mechanics and Technology Division (contain­

ing the old Flight Research Division), while still functioning a sHead

of Flight Operations until 1968. He remained on active flight status to

evaluate new concepts and research results until he retired in 1980, a

total of 38 years. During this time he flew for research and evaluation

over 230 different sing1e- and multi-engine, civil and military, land and

sea aircraft types. Included were 37 jet airplanes, 40 fighters, 60

rotary wing, including British, French and German, and 8 .. · VTOL airplanes,

including British and Canadian. Most of these aircraft were highly

instrumented and on a test status, either with government or industry,

and were flown either by assignment or by invitation.

During his career Reeder played an active role in the early. devel­

opment of airplane handling qualities requirements for satisfactory

mission performance for both civil and military aircraft, and in the

development of handling and performan'ce improvements for v1W2 aircraft.

The loads acting on aircraft in maneuvers, including compressibility

effects, and propeller characteristics in transonic flight were

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investigated. He performed early explorations of transonic phenomena

and their effects on aircraft characteristics and behavior, and was a

pioneer in the inve~tigation of the effects of sweepback on the low

speed characteristic~ of aircraft. He is best known, probably, for his

pioneering in rotary wing and V/STOL aircraft aerodynamics, performance,

instrument flight for terminal area operations, and handling qualities,

leading to the definition of requirements for next generation aircraft.

needer was a member of the Bureau of Aeronautics team that drafted

the first military specifications for satisfactory flying qualities of

helicopter s. NACA experience was used extensively in these specifica­

tions and in ~Lny following revisions.

In 1962 Reeder and another NASA pilot from Ames, under sponsorship

of the Mutual \oleapons Development Program, performed an engineering

evaluation of the vectored-thrust Hawker Siddeley P-1127, forerunner of

the current Harrier, the only VTOL airplane out of many test articles to

go into production in the free world. Reeder was the first American and

non-U.K. pilot to fly the type. Also, during this period he was a member

of a NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD)

working group which drafted and published in 1962 the Recommendations for

V/STOL Handling Qualities. The Recommendations were to be applicable to

NATO V/STOL projects. One such aircraft was the German VAK-19lB, for

which Reeder served as a member of a Navy review team after flight status

had been achieved. It was of the jet lift-cruise type, but was cancelled

by the German government after a short test program and a Navy evaluation.

In 1964 Reeder was selected by the Assistant Secretary of the Army

for Research and Development as a member of a joint German, U,K. and

U,S. review team to evaluate the Kestrel aircraft (follow on to the

P-1127, and preceding the Harrier) development program, nine of which

were being built for trials by a Tri-Partite operational evaluation

squadron. Evaluation of V/STOL combat operations under wartime conditions

was the sole objective of this exercise. Discussions with Hawker­

Siddeley and other personnel involved in the evaluation indicated little

interest in the use of vectoring except for V/STOL operations at that time.

After the trials Reeder arranged to obtain two of the Kestrels for

NASA research at Langley. Initial NASA Langley ~~nagement guidelines

wc~e to avoid investigation of military maneuvers. A planned study of

precision instrument approach procedures and techniques for V/STOL

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o~ration applicable to the vectored thrust jet configuration was con­

ducted. During this period, 1969, John Attinello, of the Institute

for Defense Analysis, published an analysis of potential benefits in de­

celeration rate and turn performance for fighters using vectoring. He carne

to NASA Langley to explore the possibility of flight test validation.

Also, shortly thereafter in 1969, Reeder answered a Navy inquiry of NASA

about possible maneuvering advantages of thrust vectoring. (See footnote.)

This cleared the way for study by NASA Langley of military applications of

vectoring with the Kestrel. In 1970 Reeder, as Chief of the new Research

Aircraft Flight DiviSion, initiated and guided flight and simulation

studies of the use of thrust vectoring (the gross engine thrust is vectored;

it's larger than net thrust which propels the aircraft in normal flight)

as a maneuvering aid, particularly for abrupt "deflections of the engine

nozzles (90 degrees per second max.) to large angles (95 degrees max.).

At high speeds increments in upward acceleration and rearward deceleration,

applied Simultaneously by thrust vectoring, can be greater than 2g, respec-

ti vely, providing the capability for "jump" maneuvers and "square turns" as

evasive maneuvers, followed within seconds by a "fall-in-behind" reversal

for a kill. The British RAF and the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment) and

the U. S. l~rine Corps, who had been exploring vectoring within severe

restrictions, were approached by rASA and drawn into a joirlt evaluation called

the VIFF (Vectoring in Forward Flight) Program. The RAF provided a Harrier

for the program with the expectation of opening its envelope to over 600 knots for full vectoring at full thrust. Parts of the program, which in­

cluded simulation as well as flight, were conducted both in the U.S. and in

the U.K. l-lost of the results are still classified. It was exciting to

read of Harrier success in air combat using VIFF in the Falklands war.

Also, during this same time period, Reeder recommended, supported

and contributed to an expanded general aviation program. One example is

the cUrrent general aviation stall/spin program initiated by Jim Patton.

As another example, Reeder conceived and initiated the program for develop­

ment of a crosswind landing gear for light, tricycle-geared transports for

operations from single-runway landing strips regardless of wind direction.

Excerpt from memo to NASA Headquarters dated Dec. 16, 1969 by John P. Heeder regarding use of thrust vectoring:

1. The rapid deceleration (speed reduction), possibly. combined with a high initial turn rate with actuation of vectoring should cause an attacker or missile from the rear to overshoot if the maneuver is properly tined. Rapid revereal of the maneuver and high acceleration (speed increase) are then required to gain the initiative on the attacker.

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Also, Tleeder conceived, formulated and led the so-called Terminal Configured Vehicle ('rCV) Program. The objective was to perform the neces­

sary research to develop advanced airborne system concepts: that could take

full advantage of, and perhaps influence, the next generation navigation,

guidance and ATC system to solve current air transportation problems. The

current air transportation needs that require solution are improved fuel and

airspace utilization, increased terminal area capacity, and improved landing

capability in adverse weather for schedule reliability with safety, and

alleviation of community noise. The pilot will remain the "intelligence"

of the aircraft and must be kept in the control loop with awareness of

situation and trends, and with natural and immediate means for maneuverL~g.

Technology exists that can solve these problems, but application for

solutions will not occur overnight. It is necessary to proceed now to find

the way. The original B-737 was, after a thorough search, procured at a

bargain price for the program. The help of Boeing was enlisted as a con­

tractor.

After the program was established and gaining recognition, the Langley

Director asked Reeder to take over the TCV Program as a separate entity.

To date, significant contributions have been wade by the Program to the on­

board systems and the flight decks of the new generation transports in the

United States and Western Europe. Very much more remains to be done.

Soon after the TCV Program got started, FAA requested NASA support

in demonstrating the U.S. selected Time Reference Scanning Beam (TRSB)

Hicrowave Landing System (1-1:LS) and its advanced guidance capabilities be­

fore the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in a competition

for selection of a standard world-wide precision landing guidance system

to eventually replace the current ILS.

Before this demonstration, no aircraft had flown automatic close-in

curved, precision guided approach paths, similar to those performed in

visual flight, to a runway and throughout landing and rollout. With an

intensive effort NASA Langley implemented such capability in the TCV B-73?

on schedule, both for automatic control and for pilot manual control,

through an augmented system, while using advanced electronic display formats.

The first demonstration was at Atlantic City, followed by Buenos Aires,

New York Kennedy, and Hontreal. Aircraft systems and flight profiles became

more sophisticated at each location. In New York the final straight portion

of the approach was less than half a mile. At Nell York and Hontreal the

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precision demonstration patterns flown required no controller directions

except clearance for takeoff and to use our own navigation. All observers

were impressed and fascinated with' the displays "flhich had situation anl

predictive information, including time scheduling, which they could all

understand. These demonstrations were a key factor in the decision of ICAO

to adopt the TnSB as the world-wide standard.

Other significant research developments during the period of these

demonstrations were two new flare laws, one of which reduced the dispersion

at touchdown under automatic control by a factor of 3 compared to currently

certified systems. Reduced dispersion is considered necessary in the future

to increase runway capacity by assuring turnoff at designated locations to

clear the runway for closely spaced following traffic.

In order to encourage the early consideration and introduction of

advanced concepts to solve current problems, a TCV team visited the Denver

ATC Center to learn about the time-based metering and profile descent con­

cepts recently instituted there on an experimental basis. Radar/Computer

determined times were projected for all high altitude arriving traffic at

four metering fixes near Denver that would provide sequencing to the active

runway or runways (the landing runway configuration changed frequently due

to wind changes). The times were projected far enough out from the fixes

that holding or path stretching could be done at high altitude, and so that a

clean, idle thrust descent to the fix could be accommodated - all conducive

to saving fuel, primarily for the fleet rather than for anyone individual

airplane. The controllers had a high workload in giving speed, holding or

path-stretching instructions, and accuracy at the fix was about + or - two

minutes. Fuel conservation, although improved, was not as good as desired

or achievable because of inaccuracies in pilots I e'stimates of the wind pro­

file, when to start descent and the speed to use. Generally, they had to add

l..!!.!'l.lst at the bottom to arrive at the fix at correct speed of 250 knots.

The TCV team went home, with encouragement from the controllers, and devised

on --hoard computations that would, with an assumed or measured wind profile

inscl'ted, and given a metering fix time for arrival from the controllers at

about 200 miles out, compute the position at which to close the throttles,

the position at which the desired or optimum speed for descent would then be

reached (the top of descent), the vertical profile to fly', and where to

level off to arrive at the fix at 250 knots and proper time. These poSitions,

or waypoints, were shOrm on the map display and the vertical profile was

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pre~ented on the vertical situation display. The flyin~ was all done

manually, in this cn f1e, usinr: a "velocity vector" control wheel steering

mode (cpntrols and maintains flight path and track angles). NASA and

sever:'l airline pilots flew many approaches in the normal traffic flow

without special consideration with an average error at the metering fix

of + or - 6.5 seconds. The TCV aircraft also saved one-third of the fuel

used by comparable aircraft using arbitrary descents. Controllers were

enthustastic about the accuracy and reduction in workload, as were the I

pilots. The computations required can be handled by flight management

systems and will be included in some new generation transports, and can

be retrofitted in aircraft with flight directors or automatic pilots.

Reeder has authored or co-authored about 80 NACA/NASA technical re­

ports and papers. He is a Fellow of the Society of-Experimental "Test Pilot

a Fellow of the AIAA, and an Honorary Fellow of the American Helicopter

Society. He is also a member and past president of Twirly Birds who soloed

helicopters before V-J Day, 1945, a member of the EAA","" the AOPA, the

P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Association, and several other professional or-.,.....

ganizations. H e has held offices, including president, in local chapters

of several organizations.

Among his awards have been the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the

Octave Chanute Award of the AIAA, the Burroughs Test Pilot Award of the

United A~rcraft Corporation and presented by th~ Flight Safety Foundation,

the Wright Brothers Medal of the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the

Certificate of Appreciation by the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company. In

In 1976 Reeder accepted the NASA Group Achievement Award to the Terminal

Configured Vehicle-Microwave Landing System Demonstration Team, including

Boeing, following the initial demonstration at Atlantic City, and in 1978 he received the NASA Outst~nding Leadership Medal for his role in conduct­

ing the series of demonstrations before the ICAO of the TRSB MLS and its

capabilities when combined with advanced airborne systems. He was also

awarded the Jorge Newbery Medal of Argentina following the MLS operations

in Buenos Aires. In 1982 Reeder was selected by NASA as one of 10 NASA Distinguished Aeronautical Researchers to be honored by the Experimental A/e

Association at its annual fly-in at Oshkosh.-

Reeder retired at the end of July, 1980, as a charter member of the

Senior Executive Service after having been in super grade/executive

positions for 22 of his 42 years with NACA/NASA. He lives in Newport News, Virginia, with his wife Frances, a native of ~mpton, Virginia, and a

former NACA employee. He has tHO daughters, Shirley Randall of Raleigh,

North Carolina, with a son and a daughter; and Carol Throckmorton in

-8-... Cincinnati, Ohio, wjth a daughter. He owns two airplanes, a Cessna

T-4lB (R-172E), and Monocoupe 90AL-125 •. He also plays golf (or tries) and he and his wife have a log cabin at Agate Harbor in the Upper Penin­

sula of Michigan on Lake Superior where they spend about one month every

summer.