Leonard S. (Luke) Hobbs (1896–1977) was an American
aeronautical 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 started in 1920 with the
Army Air Service
The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...
at
McCook Field
McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named fo ...
in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
and later worked for Stromberg Motor Devices Corporation. He was born in
Carbon County, Wyoming
Carbon County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,537. Its county seat is Rawlins, Wyoming, Rawlins. Its south border abuts the north line of Colorado.
...
. He developed the first float-type
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
for aircraft engines that was capable of providing normal operation during inverted flight. In 1927 he became a research engineer at the
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company and by 1944 was vice president of engineering for parent company
United Aircraft Corporation
The PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) () is a Russian Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense corporation. With a majority stake belonging to the Russian government, it consolidates Russian private and state-owned Russian ...
.
[''The Wright Brothers' Engines and Their Design'' by Leonard S. Hobbs, introduction by Frank A. Taylor]
/ref> He won the prestigious 1952 Collier Trophy
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...
for "designing and producing the P&W J57 turbojet engine". In 1956 was elected vice chairman of United Aircraft, retiring in 1958 but remaining on the company's board of directors until 1968.Smithsonian Institution Press
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
as part of it
Smithsonian Annals of Flight
series.
The 1972 Elmer A. Sperry Award The Elmer A. Sperry Award, named after the inventor and entrepreneur, is an American transportation engineering prize.
It has been given since 1955 for "a distinguished engineering contribution which, through application, proved in actual service, ...
was won by "Hobbs and Perry W. Pratt and the dedicated engineers of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation for the design and development of the JT3 turbo jet engine".List of Sperry Award recipients
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Leonard S.
American aerospace engineers
1896 births
1977 deaths
People from Carbon County, Wyoming
Place of death missing
Collier Trophy recipients
20th-century American engineers