Donald Dykins (January 1928 - 31 January 2016) FRAeS was a British aerodynamicist.

Early life

He was born in

Bedwellty Bedwellty is a small village in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. The village stands on a ridge of high ground between the Rhymney and Sirhowy valleys. The village comprises a parish church, public house and a few houses. The ancient pa ...

in south-east Wales.

Career

Hawker Siddeley Aviation

He became deputy chief aerodynamicist of

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...

, working on the

Hawker Siddeley Trident The Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident (originally the de Havilland DH.121 and briefly the Airco DH.121) is a British airliner produced by Hawker Siddeley. In 1957, de Havilland proposed its DH.121 trijet design to a British European Airways (B ...

. For aerodynamics, Hawker Siddeley Aviation won the 1976

Queen's Award for Technological Achievement Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by C ...

, known as the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation (Technology).

British Aerospace

He became the Chief Aerodynamicist of

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

, and the technical director for the civil aircraft division, working with Chief Engineer David McRae. Became well known for work on the

Europa Aircraft Europa Aircraft is a British kitplane manufacturer that produces the Europa XS. The company was established to produce a small kit-built low-wing aircraft for personal use within Europe, with these design goals: high speed, low cost, able to ...

Personal life

He married in 1953 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

; they had three sons (born 1956, 1959, and 1968) and one daughter (born 1960). He became a Fellow of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

in May 1994.''Times'', 9 May 1994, page 18 He died in January 2016, aged 88. His funeral was held on 11 February 2016.

References