Irven Harold Culver (May 11, 1911 – August 13, 1999) was an American aeronautical engineer. Most notable of all his accomplishments, Culver is credited for solving a fatal flaw in the

Lockheed P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

, related to high-speed compressibility problems which killed a test pilot. A humorous episode during World War II resulted in giving the very secret Lockheed Advanced Development Projects division the name " Skunk Works". A phone call from the

U.S. Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April ...

to W. A. "Dick" Pulver was misdirected to Irv Culver who answered the phone with "Skonk Works, inside man Culver" and the name stuck. Another variant of the story relates that the original Skunk Works was located in a circus tent adjacent to the Lockheed plastics fabrication facility which smelled bad and reminded the engineers of the ''

L'il Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

'' comic strip. Reportedly, Culver showed up for work wearing a civil defense gas mask as a gag and when he answered the phone he said "Skonk Works" referring to the cartoon. "Kelly overheard him and chewed out Irv for ridicule: "Culver, you're fired," Johnson roared. "Get your ass out of my tent." Culver showed up for work the next day and Johnson never said a word. Kelly Johnson referred to Culver as "a brilliant designer" in his autobiography Culver was interested in a variety of aircraft configurations and developed guidelines for laying out the twist distribution on tailless aircraft. He also helped to design an experimental helicopter, distinguished by a forward-sweeping blade, that was extremely easy to fly. In 1966, Culver, Thomas Hanson and Lance Hook were awarded a patent (US3261407) for a rigid rotor system which set world speed records for Lockheed helicopters and laid the foundation for aerobatic rotorcraft. It earned Culver the Dr. Alexander Klemin Award from the American Helicopter Society. In recent years, Culver was noted by Dan Armstrong, President of Experimental Soaring Association, for his work with

Jim Maupin Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...

designing gliders intended to be built by craftsmen from

plans A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...

. Culver is a well-known aerodynamicist. He published a 13-page paper on the design analysis for the Windrose 15-meter glider that he designed with Maupin.

Aircraft designs collaborated on

Crown City Glider Club Screaming Wiener The Crown City Glider Club Screaming Wiener is an American mid-wing, single-seat glider that was designed and built by members of the Crown City Glider Club in 1938.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 63, Soaring So ...

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by the United States Air Force ...

* Maupin Carbon Dragon *

Maupin Windrose The Maupin Windrose is an American high-wing, single-seat glider and motor glider that was designed by Jim Maupin for the Sailplane Homebuilders Association Design Contest.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 68, Soa ...

Maupin Woodstock One The Maupin Woodstock One is an American high-wing, single-seat glider designed by Jim Maupin and made available as plans for amateur construction.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 34. Soaring Society of America, ...

Volmer VJ-24W SunFun The Volmer VJ-24W SunFun is an American high-wing, strut-braced, single-seat, pod-and-boom motor glider and ultralight aircraft that was designed by Volmer Jensen and provided as plans for amateur construction by his company Volmer Aircraft o ...

* Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross Corrected horizontal stabilizer position, friction, and control stiffness issues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culver, Irv American aerospace engineers 1911 births 1999 deaths