William F. Milliken, Jr. (April 18, 1911 July 28, 2012) was an aerospace engineer, automotive engineer and racecar driver. He was born in

Old Town, Maine Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on the relatively large Marsh Island, though its boundaries extend beyond that. The island i ...

Life

After graduating from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

in 1934, Milliken worked in the aircraft industry for twenty years in analysis,

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

and

flight test Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...

ing, with emphasis on stability and control. He was assistant head of Flight Test at Boeing Aircraft during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was on the first flights of the prototype XB-29 and several B-17 models. As head of Flight Research at

Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory Calspan Corporation is a science and technology company founded in 1943 as part of the Research Laboratory of the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division at Buffalo, New York. Calspan consists of four primary operating units: Flight Research, Transportati ...

(CAL) he initiated a program for measuring aircraft dynamics in flight using automatic control techniques, accomplishing the first

frequency response In signal processing and electronics, the frequency response of a system is the quantitative measure of the magnitude and phase of the output as a function of input frequency. The frequency response is widely used in the design and analysis of sy ...

measurements. Also, as co-inventor of th
variable stability aircraft
(circa 1948) he was involved in pioneering stability augmentation and modern electrohydraulic flight control systems. Milliken competed in over 100 post-war road races. He was a founding member of the Watkins Glen Road Races, serving as head of the Rules Committee. He competed in the ver
first Watkins Glen event
in 1948 (in which he rolled-over). "Milliken's Corner" on the original Watkins Glen circuit is named after him. He drove cars such as Type 35 and 54

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

s and an ex-Indy Four Wheel Drive (FWD)

Miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

at Watkins Glen,

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest ...

, Sebring and many others across North America for 15 years. Later, continuing involvement included a term as Chief Steward for the Formula One

US Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

. As a result of his racing activity, he became interested in automobile stability and control and the potential for applications of aircraft technology. Under the sponsorship of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

vehicle dynamics For motorized vehicles, such as automobiles, aircraft, and watercraft, vehicle dynamics is the study of vehicle motion, e.g., how a vehicle's forward movement changes in response to driver inputs, propulsion system outputs, ambient conditions, air ...

activity at CAL developed and substantiated the automobile dynamic

equations of motion In physics, equations of motion are equations that describe the behavior of a physical system in terms of its motion as a function of time.''Encyclopaedia of Physics'' (second Edition), R.G. Lerner, G.L. Trigg, VHC Publishers, 1991, ISBN (Ver ...

and developed the first variable stability (servo-controlled) cars. The first six-component tire testing machine was developed, leading to TIRF, the original high-speed, flat-belt tire tester in 1970.
TIRF
is still one of the most advanced tire testing machines in the world. Prior to his death, his racing career resumed at a private meet at

Bridgehampton, New York Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of Southampton, on Long Island. Shortly after ...

followed by several appearances at the

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...

and at the 50th anniversary of Watkins Glen. He drove both the FWD Miller Indy car and his own MX-1 "Camber Car" in these vintage events.

Books

Milliken has authored, or co-authored the following books: * ''Equations of Motion - Adventure, Risk and Innovation. An Engineering Autobiography'' by William F. Milliken, 2009, ,
publisher's page
* ''Race Car Vehicle Dynamics Problems, Answers and Experiments'' by Douglas L. Milliken, Edward M. Kasprzak, L. Daniel Metz and William F. Milliken, 2003,
publisher' page
* ''Chassis Design'' by William F. Milliken and Douglas L. Milliken, 2002,
publisher's page
* ''Race Car Vehicle Dynamics'' by William F. Milliken and Douglas L. Milliken, 1995,
publisher's page

References

* *

External links

Milliken Research Associates Inc. official websiteThe Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award - 1967
Co-recipient for pioneering work on variable stability aircraft and early fly-by-wire control, at CAL.
Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation - 1985
The award honors the memory of Edward N. Cole, former President and COO of General Motors Corporation, and the inspiration he provided to others in the engineering profession by his continuing search and drive for product innovation.
Inaugural SCCA Hall of Fame Class Announced - 2004
Milliken served as Vice President and as a member of the Contest Board, and he was elected to the very first SCCA Board of Directors. Perhaps his most significant contribution was that he authored the very first set of SCCA General Competition Rules.
AIAA Pendray Award Recipient - 2011(alternate link)
For seven decades of outstanding technical accomplishments and unparalleled leadership in the field of vehicle dynamics, and for his inspiring autobiography for future generations.
Legends of The Glen - 2011Legends of The Glen - 2011
(working link added January 2014)

Lifetime achievement award from the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA. Als
At 100, Bill Milliken Officially a Legend
Slice of MIT blog post.
ASME has established the William F. Milliken Invited Lecture.
First given in 2013 in Portland OR, the 2014 lecture was given by Raymond McHenry, in Buffalo, NY. Other links includ
Ray's Abstract
and th
ASME selection criteria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milliken, William F., Jr. American aerospace engineers American automotive engineers American centenarians Men centenarians 1911 births 2012 deaths People from Old Town, Maine Racing drivers from Maine Writers from Maine

Life

Books

See also

References

External links