Bill Strang (engineer) facts for kids

William John Strang (born June 29, 1921 – died September 14, 1999) was a brilliant British aerospace engineer. He spent his entire career working with airplanes, mostly in Filton, Bristol. He was the Technical Director for commercial aircraft at British Aerospace until he retired in 1983. After that, he led the Civil Aviation Airworthiness Requirements Board until 1990. Strang was a key person in creating the famous Concorde airplane. He received important honors like the CBE in 1973 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977.

Early Life and School Days

Strang was born in Torquay, England, on June 29, 1921. He went to Torquay Grammar School, where he was a top student. In 1939, he won a scholarship for college. However, he decided to join the Bristol Aeroplane Company in Filton instead. He worked there during World War II. After the war, in 1946, he used his scholarship to study at King's College London. He earned a top degree in mathematics and later a PhD.

His Work in Aviation

Starting Out

From 1939 to 1946, Strang worked at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. He was part of the Aerodynamics and Stress departments. He helped design planes like the Beaufort, Beaufighter, Buckingham, and Brabazon. He also worked on Bristol gun turrets. He made big contributions to the design of the Brabazon aircraft.

Australia and Fast Flight

In 1948, Strang and his wife, Margaret, moved to Melbourne, Australia. He worked at the Aircraft Research Laboratory (ARL). There, he became very interested in supersonic flight, which means flying faster than the speed of sound. He wrote several important papers about it. One paper was about how strong winds affect delta-winged supersonic planes.

Strang might have stayed in Australia. But in 1951, Dr. Archibald Russell visited him. Russell convinced Strang that his skills were best suited for designing planes, not just research. So, Strang and his family returned to the United Kingdom to join Russell's team in Filton. This decision turned out to be very important for the future of Concorde.

Working on the Britannia

Soon after returning to the UK, Strang was put in charge of the Aerodynamics and Flight Research and Development Departments. In 1955, he became the Chief Designer for the Britannia aircraft. The Britannia was a large plane for its time, designed for flights across the Atlantic Ocean. Not many Britannias were built, but they were known for being very strong and lasting a long time. The Britannia was special because it was the first passenger plane to use a new system for its controls.

Concorde – The Idea Takes Shape

Strang's design skills were quickly noticed. In 1956, he started working on other projects, including a bomber plane. That same year, a committee called STAC (Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee) was formed. Strang played a big role in deciding that it was possible to build a supersonic passenger plane. This plane would have a special "slender delta-wing" shape. Its aerodynamics (how it moves through the air) were based on new ideas from scientists like Dietrich Kuchemann.

To see if this was possible, Strang's team in Filton received some money for a study. They looked into building a plane that could carry 130 passengers for about 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles) at Mach 2.2 (more than twice the speed of sound). This project might be done with France or the USA. Filton already had a contract for a supersonic research plane made of steel, called the Type 188. This plane first flew in April 1962. This experience taught the team that a civil supersonic plane should not fly too fast. It needed to use aluminum alloys, which are strong but lighter. Strang's earlier research in Australia on supersonic flight was perfect preparation for this work. It gave him valuable knowledge and management experience for the new tasks on Concorde.

Concorde – Working with France

In 1960, Strang became a director and Chief Engineer of the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. That same year, Strang, along with Sir Archibald Russell and Mick Wilde, began talking with people from Sud Aviation, a French aerospace company. The French were studying a smaller plane for 60-70 passengers, flying about 3,500 kilometers (1,900 nautical miles). The British team wanted a much longer-range plane for 130 passengers, capable of crossing the Atlantic. So, there were big differences. But they kept working together, with Bill Strang playing a very important part.

By the end of 1961, the French and British governments decided to have BAC and Sud Aviation work together on a joint project. In January 1962, they concluded that two plane designs could share many things. This included research, tests, parts, tools, and engines. Two main drawings were submitted, both signed by Strang and his French partner, Servanty.

The four main people involved in these design talks were Dr. A. E. Russell (later Sir Archibald Russell) and Dr. W. J. Strang from the British side. From the French side were Pierre Satre and Lucien Servanty. All four were highly respected aerospace engineers.

In October 1962, in a small office in Paris, a final step was taken in the long talks. The project was in danger of stopping because important issues still needed to be solved. Bill Strang and Lucien Servanty locked themselves away for a whole day. They had a single draftsman and a drawing board. They agreed not to leave until they had reached an agreement and an agreed drawing for both the long-range and medium-range aircraft. They succeeded! It was surprising because they were very different people. Lucien Servanty was strong and fiery, while Bill Strang was calm and quiet. But their partnership worked because they respected each other's intelligence and honesty.

By November 1962, a detailed agreement between the British and French governments was signed in London. This agreement was for developing and producing a civil supersonic transport plane. There was also an agreement between BAC and Sud Aviation. Britain was to lead on the engines (the Bristol Siddeley Olympus), with a French deputy. France was to lead on the plane's body (the airframe), with a British deputy. So, Servanty was named Director of Engineering, and Strang was his deputy. They worked with a team of six: three British and three French engineers.

Luckily, both the French and British teams had separately come up with similar main design ideas. They both agreed on using mostly aluminum alloy for the structure. This meant the plane's top speed would be around Mach 2. They also agreed on the slender delta-wing shape. However, there was still a big difference in how far the plane could fly. The French wanted a medium-range version, and the British wanted a longer, transatlantic-range version. This meant a larger, heavier, and more expensive plane. In this situation, Strang's calm and clear thinking was very valuable.

One of his colleagues said that working with Bill Strang was a great honor. He could quickly understand the main parts of any problem and find the right solution. He was very efficient, even tough, in finding any mistakes in your ideas. But he would do it in the kindest way possible. Everyone who met him, including the French, respected his decisions and advice.

By 1964, after talking with airlines, the French team agreed to drop the short-range version. They adopted the longer-range and heavier transatlantic version, which Strang and his British colleagues had pushed for. This version needed a 20% increase in wing area. By April 1965, they started cutting metal to build the first prototype planes.

Concorde Takes Flight

Building Concorde had many technical challenges and international discussions. After a lot of testing on the ground, the first Concorde prototype, 001, flew on March 2, 1969, in Toulouse, France. The second one, 002, flew on April 9, 1969, from Filton, England.

In June 1969, both prototypes were shown to the public for the first time at the Paris air show. Later that year, Concorde reached Mach 1 (the speed of sound). The first airline pilots flew it, and the government approved three more aircraft.

By November 1970, both prototypes had flown well at Mach 2. This showed that a major design goal had been achieved. But much more development was needed. The prototypes still had to make stops to complete normal transatlantic flights with enough fuel. At the end of the year, Dr. Russell, who first inspired the project and convinced Bill Strang to return from Australia, retired.

In 1971, the US Congress stopped America's supersonic program. But four more Concordes were ordered, plus materials for six more. This faith was justified because Concorde completed its hundredth flight at Mach 2. Airline pilots also flew some of these flights. Prototype 001 made an intercontinental flight to Dakar and toured South America. In December, Concorde 01, ordered at the end of 1969, made its first flight from Filton. This was a great achievement by Bill Strang and his team.

The Concorde partners were more than doubling the cruising speed of passenger planes in one step. They kept making good progress. By the end of 1975, Concorde had received its flight safety certificates from both Britain and France. Deliveries to airlines had begun. The aircraft continued to make many amazing flights, often cutting transoceanic flight times in half. By January 1976, passenger flights were operating.

For his work on Concorde, Strang received the C.B.E. award in 1973. He was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977, an honor he truly valued.

After Concorde

In 1978, Strang became the Deputy Technical Director for the entire Aircraft Group of the newly formed British Aerospace. This group included all major British fixed-wing aircraft, both military and civil.

In 1983, the Civil Airworthiness Authority appointed him as Chairman of the ARB (Airworthiness Requirements Board). He was perfect for this role, and they had kept the position open for him for a year until he retired. He had been a founding member since 1972 and remained their Chairman until 1990.