Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America

1924-2007

Harold (Hal) Andrews — a friend and mentor to many in the vertical flight community and a member of VFS (then known as the American Helicopter Society) since 1969 — was a leader in US Naval Aviation developments, as well as a prolific writer who authored/co-authored numerous papers and articles over the years.

Andrews was born on Dec. 27, 1924, in Ithaca, New York, where he grew up. According to Naval Aviation News, “Hal was bitten by the model-building bug as a 12-year-old and … knew he wanted to be an engineer early in his life.” He attended Cornell University in Ithaca but enlisted in the Navy during World War II (1944-1946); he passed the entrance test for a demanding one-year radar/radio technical school. He earned an Aviation Radio Technician rating, but the war ended before he was deployed in combat.

After the war, he completed his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree at Cornell in 1948, and then worked at Boeing Aircraft Company as a draftsman and junior engineer on strategic bombers including the B-47, B-50 and B-54 (as well as the early development of the B-52). He was also in the US Navy Reserves, drilling regularly and taking courses as an aircraft mechanic because he hoped to gain a commission as an engineering officer. During this time, he married Ellen-Elizabeth Bohall in 1949, whom he met at Cornell; she also began to work at Boeing.

However, with the outbreak of the Korean war, his reserve unit was suddenly activated in July 1950 and he served for another two years in the Navy (1950–1951). His squadron was ordered to nearby Whidbey Island, Washington, but returned to Seattle to conduct operational training on the Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer patrol bomber, for which he was a crew member.

Returning to civilian life (he remained in the Reserves until 1954), Andrews joined the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (now Calspan), where he analyzed captured Soviet aircraft. There, he was a co-author on (likely classified) reports, “Evaluation and Analysis of the Soviet IL-10 Aircraft” and “Evaluation and Analysis of the Soviet MIG-15 Aircraft,” and later “Lateral Forces & Moment Characteristics of Pneumatic Tires.” Andrews stayed in Ithaca and began working on a master of engineering degree (1953-1955) but had to stop before completing it for financial reasons.

He and his wife Ellen moved to Arlington, Virginia, and, in December 1955, he joined the US Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) — which later became part of what is now the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). There, over the next 31 years, Andrews worked on or was responsible for approximately 50 types of Navy or joint aircraft. He had a major influence on most aircraft in the Navy/Marine Corps’ fleet into the 21st Century. Although always extremely modest, fellow participants note that vertical flight aircraft such as the AV-8B Harrier II, the V-22 Osprey, and the F-35B Lightning II might never have come into being without his dedication.

Andrews worked initially as a stability and controls and flight dynamics engineer in BuAer’s Airframe Division. He rose to become the Assistant Head of the Stability & Control Section in 1961, then the Head of the Section in 1966, until 1971. During these 16 years, he worked initially with fixed-wing conventional aircraft, later adding Vertical and/or Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft and rotorcraft. Andrews conducted design analyses and assessments, ground and flight test project planning and reviews and problem assessment/correction on multiple models of aircraft. He was also the Navy’s director of ground test and flight development of the Bell X-22 V/STOL research aircraft (which was primarily tested at Calspan in Ithaca).

Throughout his civil service career, he worked closely with naval aviators at all levels, with other service and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) personnel, and with industry and academic engineers. Flight experience permitted “sampling the product.” Although he was not a licensed pilot, he progressed enough to make his solo flight, and he was frequently flown in aircraft in (or a potential for) the Navy/Marine Corps inventory. The Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association (“The Golden Eagles”) said that he had the distinction of being the only NAVAIR civilian engineer to experience a departure in a transonic maneuver in the Vought F8U Crusader, in the only two-seat Crusader (TF-8A) with Vought test pilot Stuart Madison in the mid-1960s.

Andrews was promoted to the Head of the Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics Branch in 1971, and then became the Technical Director of the overall NAVAIR Airframe Division in 1973, adding structures and mechanical equipment to his responsibility. During this time, Andrews was a member of the US/UK Joint Management Board for the AV-16 Advanced Harrier program, which eventually led to the AV-8B Harrier. His leadership also resulted in increased involvement in the joint NAVAIR/Naval Research Laboratory, joint services and Navy/NASA activities. He was a significant participant in the initiation of several major new programs, such as the “LAMPS” and “V/STOL A” vertical flight programs.

Andrews transferred to the NAVAIR Research and Technology Group in 1977 as the Director of Advanced Aircraft Systems, with overall direction of aircraft systems studies and programs, as well as the manager of the aeronautical technology exploratory development program. Andrews had a major role in the Navy joining the Bell XV-15 tiltrotor flight test program, as well as the Sikorsky XH-59 high-speed Advancing Blade Concept (ABC) compound helicopter. The NASA Monograph, “The History of The XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft: From Concept to Flight,” credited Andrews with providing Navy funding to the XV-15 beginning in 1979, at a critical point where the program might not have survived.

Andrews also helped direct the Sea Based Air Master Study (SEABAMS), which helped define the Navy’s vision for V/STOL in the 1980s. He was also responsible for initiation of proposed new programs, including VTXTS (now the Boeing T-45 Goshawk). During this time, he was also involved in joint research, development and systems activities and expanded internationally as a member of the NATO Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD, now part of NATO’s Science and Technology Organization) Flight Mechanics Panel. He was also a member of the Aeronautics SubGroup of the international (US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) science and technology collaboration, The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP).

Andrews became the NAVAIR Associate Technical Director for Research and Technology, managing the entire NAVAIR Exploration Development Program in 1980, and then became the NAVAIR Technical Director in 1984. There, he initiated, supported and/or promoted many new technology initiatives, such as Very High-Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSICs), multi-sensor processing, dual mode missile seekers and advanced cockpit displays. Andrews played a major role in initiating low observables (LO) technology for carrier-based aircraft and in exploring applications of other classified technologies, and participated in a major Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) study leading to the A-12 Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA) program, followed by initiation of planning for joint ATA / Air Force Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF, which eventually resulted in the F-22) technologies.

During this time, Andrews also participated in national studies under the National Academies’ Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) and the President’s Executive Office on future aeronautical research and technology directions and policy. He was also on the NASA Aeronautics Advisory Committee, helped initiate the US/UK Advanced Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) technology program — which developed the V/STOL technologies for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)/F-35B program — and was a member of the AIAA Congressional aeronautics advisory committee.

Andrews played a major role in the celebrations for the 50th and 75th anniversaries of Naval Aviation (1961 and 1986 respectively) with Naval Aviation News. He was also instrumental in having the US Navy’s Curtis NC-4 flying boat — the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic (May 1919) — displayed on the National Mall in Washington, DC, for the 50th anniversary of that feat.

During his tenure, he also spent some time on Capitol Hill. He was a witness or back-up witness before several House and Senate subcommittees, mostly on V/STOL aircraft (1965–1980) and served as a liaison with committee/subcommittee staffs on naval aviation and V/STOL aircraft. For several years, Andrews served as the co-chairman of a Congressional Aeronautics Advisory Subcommittee, reporting to the House Subcommittee on Transportation, Aviation and Materials.

Andrews retired from civil service in 1986. In 1991, he was designated as Honorary Naval Aviator No. 22 by Vice Admiral Richard Dunleavy, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare (OP-05), the honor that Andrews was most proud of.

During his time at NAVAIR, Andrews was the author or co-author of numerous reports and publications, including numerous publications on flying qualities, stall/spin, maneuverability and advanced fighter aircraft, as well as various aviation sections of “The Harper Encyclopedia of Science” (Harper & Row, 1963). In 1966, he published two historical monographs, “The Curtis SB2C-1 Helldiver” and “The Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat,” with Profile Publications, Leatherhead, England.

Andrews was a recognized expert in Naval aviation history, and a stickler for accuracy, publishing articles as early as 1957 and continuing for 50 years.

After he noted some errors in the Navy’s Naval Aviation News magazines in the late 1950s, he was appointed as a contributing editor and the technical advisor to the magazine — regularly writing articles and reviewing technical pages in his spare time; he went on to write more than 125 articles for the magazine over a half century. Andrews was also an advisor and consultant editor for the Association of Naval Aviation’s Wings of Gold magazine (beginning in 1989), the Naval Aviation Museum’s Foundation magazine (beginning in 1993) and The Tailhook Association’s The Hook magazine (beginning around 1977). He was a founding member (1956) of the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS), later serving on the board of directors and as a vice-president. He also contributed to Aeroplane Monthly, Air Enthusiast, Skyways and other publications.

Andrews was member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) since 1948, then known as the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences (IAS). He was an officer of the IAS National Capital Section (NCS) during 1959 to 1962; he was the NCS Chair in 1961–62, helping to integrate IAS with the American Rocket Society (ARS), which completed the merger in January 1963. He was the co-manager of the IAS/AIAA “Project 60,” which constructed a reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer for the visitors’ center at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, for the 60th anniversary of the first flight, in December 1963.

He remained active in the Section, again serving as a member of the NCS executive council (and as historian and the Honors and Awards Chair) from 1985 until his death. He served on the AIAA Flight Mechanics Technical Committee (1960–1964), the V/STOL Aircraft Systems Technical Committee (1985 until his death) and the History Committee (2000 until his death). He was elected as an AIAA Associate Fellow in 1982, and a Fellow in 2006, cited “For a continued lifetime of dedication to the advancement of aviation, the preservation and understanding of our aeronautics heritage, and service to AIAA.” Andrews was a nominator for several AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites, including College Park Airport, College Park, Maryland (2003).

Andrews was also active in AHS, joining in 1969 (and recognized as a Gold Circle Member after 25 years). In the 1970s, he helped initiate and then was the chair (1979–1981) of the Fixed-Wing V/STOL Ad Hoc Committee (the forerunner of today’s Advanced Vertical Flight Technical Committee); he later served on the AHS Technical Council. Andrews also published V/STOL historical perspectives in the March/April 1997, Summer 2001 and Fall/Winter 2001 issues of the society’s Vertiflite magazine.

After retirement from NAVAIR in 1986, where he received the Navy Superior Service Award, Andrews became an independent consultant for the Navy, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in advanced aeronautical systems and their technologies. One consulting agreement was with Defense Group Incorporated (DGI), which later spun off CENTRA Technology (now part of Amentum): he supported ASTOVL design studies and program development in support of DARPA and NASA (1987 to 1995); participated in the DARPA Aeronautics R&D Workshop in February 1990; prepared the final report on the McDonnell Gas Coupled Lift Fan ASTOVL testing after termination of program when ASTOVL taken over by the JSF program in 1995; and was the lead consultant on a “special program” (1996–1998). He also served on the Department of Defense (DoD)/NASA Aeronautics and Space Coordinating Board, dealing with NASA/industry interactions (1986-87).

For the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), he conducted an assessment of operating problems of airships (1988-1989) and a sea-based tactical air platform study (1990-1992). For Starmark Corporation, he conducted high-speed rotorcraft studies, with an emphasis on tiltrotor aircraft as combat aircraft for the Army and civil use for the FAA, as well as assessments of advanced air vehicle concepts, particularly for unmanned aerial vehicles (1986 to 1992).

One of his joys was teaching. Through the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), he was a lecturer on Experimental Flight Mechanics (1977–1984), the joint AIAA/UTSI Fundamentals of V/STOL Aircraft Short Course (1997–2001) and was a member of its National Advisory Committee (1987–1991). Through the University of Virginia, Andrews was the course coordinator and a lecturer for the "Overview Aircraft Design and Development" (1986–1998), an annual three-week long aircraft design course for NAVAIR engineers, taught with University of Virginia aerospace engineering professor George B. Matthews.

In 1991, Andrews was awarded the Alfred V. Verville Fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, and continued there as a research associate for the next 16 years. In 2003, Andrews was inducted into the “Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association,” better known as the Golden Eagles, as an honorary member; he was only the second civilian (after Andrews’s good friend and mentor, George Spangenberg) to have ever been selected.

Andrews was tireless in trying to ensure the accuracy of the history of aviation and encouraging young people to pursue careers in aerospace. An author or coauthor of hundreds of articles and papers, as well as several books, Andrews received the Admiral Arthur W. Radford Award for Excellence in Naval Aviation History and Literature from the Naval Aviation Museum in 2002.

Hal Andrews passed away on May 15, 2007, at the age of 82, after suffering a heart attack and a fall outside his condo in Arlington, Virginia. He had lived there for decades with his wife, Ellen, who preceded him in death in April 2004.

“Andrews loved airplanes, but his true love was helping people. And he seemed to help everyone,” wrote CAPT R. “Zip” Rausa, USN (Ret), editor of Wings of Gold magazine.

The Vertical Flight Society’s Hal Andrews VFF scholarship is funded annually by VFS Executive Director Mike Hirschberg. Andrews was his mentor beginning in 1996, and inspired him to pursue his interest in vertical flight and professional societies.

Sources:

• AHS Update: Vertiflite, Fall 2007
• HalAndews.net (archived)
• Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association (“Golden Eagles”)