1987 William E. Jennings
William E. Jennings was the 1987 Kelly Johnson Award recipient for outstanding achievement in the field of Flight Test Engineering.
The following is the original text from the award announcement at the 1987 symposium:
KELLY JOHNSON AWARD
This year the annual "Kelly" .Johnson Award for outstanding achievement in the Flight Test Engineering discipline is awarded to Mr. William E. "Bill" Jennings.Bill earned a BSME, University of Texas, in June 1952. He joined Bell Helicopter in 1952 as a test engineer in the Mechanical Lab; he was later appointed Assistant Group Engineer. From 1961 through July 1964, he worked in the Flight Test Group as a Flight Test Engineer. In 1965, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Flight Test Engineer and in 1968, to Chief Flight Test Engineer. He was promoted to Manager, Flight Test Engineering, in 1980 and to Director, Test and Evaluation, in 1982.
Bill served in World War II and the Korean War as a US Marine Corps fighter pilot. He completed 20 years of reserve duty and retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1962.
Bill is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and is a member of the American Helicopter Society, Society of Flight Test Engineers, Association of the United States Army, and serves on the Flight Test and Operations Committee of the Aerospace Industries of America Association. As a Flight Test Engineer, he had direct responsibility for the HPH (High Performance Helicopter) which was a compound research helicopter that was flown to 317 mph in 1969.
He was the Assistant Chief Flight Test Engineer during the development and qualification of the Cobra Attack Helicopters, the development and certification of the JetRanger series and the commercial Huey series helicopters.
He was the Chief Flight Test Engineer during the development and qualification/certification of the twin-engined Bell Helicopters for both military and commercial use. Also during this period, he had direct responsibility over the initial stages of development of the XV-15 Tiltrotor Research Aircraft Program, in addition to his responsibilities over the multitude of other research, development, qualification and certification flight programs at Bell Helicopter.
He is currently involved with the major expansion and transition of the test and evaluation functions at Bell Helicopter in preparation for the V-22 Tiltrotor Program. This includes many major test lab expansions, new drive system bench test facilities, new flight test hangar facilities, and development and insertion into use of the new Computer Aided Flight Test Analysis (CAFTA) System.
The new flight test hangar facilities at Bell Helicopter's Flight Research Center at the Arlington, Texas, Municipal Airport, involved Bill in many months of research, reporting and direct contact with the Arlington City Council to achieve their approval for the necessary expansion of the Arlington Airport for the V-22 program.
Bill Jennings' 44 years of direct involvement in aviation, with over a third of a century of direct work experience in nearly every aspect of test and evaluation, shows his dedication to our field of work.
Mr. William E. Jennings is an excellent representative of our Society's purpose and goals.
The following is the original text from the article published by the Society of Flight Test Engineers in Flight Test News, in November 1987:
WILLIAM E. JENNINGS RECEIVES 1987 "Kelly" JOHNSON AWARD
William E. Jennings, Bell Helicopter Director of Test and Evaluation, received the SFTE's "Kelly" Johnson Award for outstanding achievement in the field of flight test engineering at the Society's 18th Annual Symposium Banquet held at the Hotel Kragnapolsky, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The award presentation was made by SFTE President Roger Jones in recognition of Mr. Jennings' outstanding contributions and achievements during more than a third of a century of direct work experience in nearly every aspect of flight test and evaluation.Mr. Jennings earned a BSME, University of Texas, in June 1952. He joined Bell Helicopter in 1952 as a test engineer in the Mechanical Lab; he was later appointed Assistant Group Engineer. From 1961 through July 1964, he worked in the Flight Test Group as a Flight Test Engineer. In 1965, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Flight Test Engineer and in 1968, to Chief Flight Test Engineer. He was promoted to Manager, Flight Test Engineering, in 1980 and to Director, Test and Evaluation, in 1982.
Mr. Jennings has had many assignments during his long career. He was the Chief Flight Test Engineer during the development and qualification/certification of the twin-engined Bell Helicopters for both military and commercial use. Also during the period, he had direct responsibility over the initial stages of development of the XV-15 Tiltrotor Research Aircraft Program, in addition to his responsibilities over the multitude of other research, development, qualification and certification flight programs at Bell Helicopter. He is currently involved with the major expansion and transition of the test and evaluation functions at Bell Helicopter in preparation for the V-22 Tiltrotor Program.
Bill Jennings' 44 years of direct involvement in aviation, with over a third of a century of direct work experience in nearly every aspect of test and evaluation, shows his dedication to our field of work.