Vincent A. Weldon is an American
aerospace engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
who has designed critical components for both the
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
moon mission and the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
.
Weldon attracted controversy in 2006 for his criticism of the
Boeing 787 ''Dreamliner'', an airliner he claims is unsafe, and for his sacking from Boeing shortly afterwards under disputed circumstances.
Aerospace career
Weldon joined Boeing in 1960, beginning a 46-year career with the firm. He was first involved with the wing design of the
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
airliner,
a design that incorporated
high-lift device
In aircraft design and aerospace engineering, a high-lift device is a component or mechanism on an aircraft's wing that increases the amount of lift (force), lift produced by the wing. The device may be a fixed component, or a movable mechanism w ...
s such as triple-slotted
flaps, which enabled the 727 to be one of the first jet aircraft capable of operating from relatively short runways.
[Eden, Paul. (Ed). ''Civil Aircraft Today.'' 2008: Amber Books, pp. 72-3.]
In mid-1962, Weldon was assigned to the Apollo program, where he designed the support and release system for the
Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed ...
. He was also tasked to design a new thrust structure for the Apollo
Service module
A service module (also known as an equipment module or instrument compartment) is a component of a crewed space capsule containing a variety of support systems used for spacecraft operations. Usually located in the uninhabited area of the spacec ...
's main engine, which would be 100% stiffer, yet not increase the weight of the Service module. Weight was critical, to allow the unit to be carried aboard the
Saturn V
Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
launch vehicle.
In the 1970s, he led the design team at Boeing's space research facility in
Kent, Washington
Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...
, responsible for creating complex components of the Space Shuttle.
Weldon was made Contractor Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Team Leader for the
Space Shuttle orbiter
The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable orbital spacecraft system that was part of the discontinued Space Shuttle program. Operated from 1977 to 2011 by NASA, the U.S. space agency, thi ...
Aft
Fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
. He was a pioneer in the use of advanced
composite material
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s in
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...
design,
and the Orbiter was one of the first composite (Titanium/ Boron
Epoxy
Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also coll ...
) reusable aerospace major primary structure applications.
While working in collaboration with the
RAND
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
workshop, it was Weldon's research that showed
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
would be better than
Inconel
Inconel is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation for a family of austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloys.
Inconel alloys are oxidation-corrosion-resistant materials well suited for service in extreme environments subjected t ...
as a
honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
beekeeping, Beekee ...
structural material for building metallic ''Trans-Atmospheric Vehicles'' (TAVs) and
X-33
The Lockheed Martin X-33 was a proposed uncrewed, sub-scale technology demonstrator suborbital spaceplane that was developed for a period in the 1990s. The X-33 was a technology demonstrator for the VentureStar orbital spaceplane, which was pla ...
spacecraft.
Later, Weldon became the Senior Aerospace Engineer at
Boeing Phantom Works
Boeing Phantom Works is the advanced prototyping arm of the defense and security side of Boeing. Its primary focus is developing advanced military products and technologies, many of them highly classified.
Founded by McDonnell Douglas, the re ...
research center.
Safety claims
Vince Weldon's experience in the use of composite materials led to him being asked by Boeing to research how advanced composites could be used to build its next generation passenger airliner, the 787 ''Dreamliner''.
Weldon told Boeing management that the
carbon fiber-reinforced plastic material which was being used to construct the Boeing 787 ''Dreamliner'' was unsafe, less safe than a conventional
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
aircraft, and that in the event of a crash the composite fuselage would "shatter too easily and burn with toxic fumes".
Boeing fired Weldon in July 2006.
Weldon detailed his concerns about the 787 airliner in a letter he wrote to the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
(FAA).
He also criticised the FAA's guidelines for composite airliners, saying they do not go far enough to guarantee passenger safety on the 787.
He filed a
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
complaint with the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...
(OSHA), claiming his sacking was in "retaliation for raising concerns throughout the last two years of his employment about the
crashworthiness
Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different crit ...
of the 787". Boeing rejected Weldon's claims that the 787 airliner was unsafe, and told the OSHA that Weldon was sacked because he threatened a supervisor. The OSHA denied Weldon whistleblower status under the
Whistleblower Protection Act
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)-(9), Pub.L. 101-12 as amended, is a United States federal law that protects federal whistleblowers who work for the government and report the possible existence of an activity constit ...
, "largely on the grounds that Boeing's 787 design does not violate any FAA regulations or standards."
In 2007, a
HDNet
AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...
television documentary titled ''Plastic Planes'', hosted by veteran newscaster
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurr ...
, was broadcast in the United States, featuring Weldon's claims about safety issues with the Boeing 787.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Vince
American aerospace engineers
American whistleblowers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)