William Hawley Bowlus (May 8, 1896 – August 27, 1967
) was an American designer, engineer and builder of
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
(especially
gliders) and
recreational vehicles
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...
in the 1930s and 1940s. Today he is most widely known for his creation of the world's first aluminum travel trailer, the
Bowlus Road Chief
Bowlus is an American luxury travel trailer with a front door, aerodynamic shape and polished aluminum body.
Hawley Bowlus designed and built the travel trailer using his knowledge of aircraft construction. Aspects of the design were used on the ...
, which
Airstream
Airstream is an American brand of travel trailer ("caravan" in British English) easily recognized by the distinctive shape of its rounded and polished aluminum coachwork. This body shape dates back to the 1930s and is based on the Bowlus Road C ...
imitated in 1936 to create the Clipper. This followed his prior famed work as the Superintendent of Construction on
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
's aircraft, the ''
Spirit of St. Louis
The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...
''. He also designed and constructed the innovative but unsuccessful
XCG-16A
The XCG-16 was a military transport/assault glider ordered by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), from General Airborne Transport Co., for competition against the Waco CG-13A at Wright Field.
Design and development
Design of the CG-16 e ...
experimental
military glider
Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were ...
ordered by the U.S.
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
in 1943, appearing as XCG-16 in the list of
Vincent Burnelli
Vincent Justus Burnelli (November 22, 1895 – June 22, 1964) was an American aeronautics engineer, instrumental in furthering the lifting body and flying wing concept.
Biography
Burnelli was born on November 22, 1895, in Temple, Texas. ...
airplanes. In popular culture he is usually referred to as Hawley Bowlus.
[Parker, Dana T. ''Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,'' pp. 121, 128, Cypress, CA, 2013. .]
Bowlus was an expert at soaring flight and at building gliders, established numerous records, trained many of America's earliest glider pilots, and gave gliding lessons to both Charles and
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh (June 22, 1906 – February 7, 2001) was an American writer and aviator. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights.
Raised in Englewood, New Jers ...
. In 1930 he and Lindbergh glided at various locations in California. Most notably Point Loma in San Diego California where Bowlus conducted many of his flights and tests.
Charles Lindbergh established a regional distance record for gliders by flying in a Bowlus sailplane from Mount Soledad in La Jolla to Del Mar, making use of the lift at the
Torrey Pines Gliderport
The Torrey Pines Gliderport is a city-owned private-use glider airport located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States, 11 nautical miles (20 km) northwest of the city's central business district.
It was first ...
. Anne Morrow Lindbergh also flew in a Bowlus sailplane from Mount Soledad and became the first woman in the United States to receive a "first class" glider license (Maxine Dunlap had preceded her in becoming the first woman in the United States to receive a glider license of any kind, a "third class" glider license). Bowlus was also the first American to break
Orville Wright's
1911 soaring duration record in an American designed and built sailplane.
Bowlus was inducted into the
Soaring Hall of Fame The Soaring Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made the highest achievements in, or contributions to, the sport of soaring in the United States of America. It has been located at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, since 19 ...
in 1954.
[
]
See also
* Bowlus SP-1 Paperwing
The Bowlus SP-1 Paperwing was an American high-wing cantilever monoplane, single-seat, glider that was designed in 1928 and completed by William Hawley Bowlus on January 1, 1929. The SP-1 was Bowlus' sixteenth glider, and was test flown at Lind ...
References
External links
Lindy Hops Gliders
1896 births
1967 deaths
American glider pilots
Glider flight record holders
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