'Father' of F-16 Dies at Age 89Staff report
Published: 10 Feb 15:28 EST (20:28 GMT)
The man known as the father of the F-16 and a founding member of the "fighter mafia" is dead.
Aircraft designer Harry J. Hillaker died Feb. 8 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. He was 89.
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Hillaker spent 44 years with U.S. contractor General Dynamics, where he was a point man for designing the F-16. General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin have delivered more than 4,400 F-16s to air forces around the world.
In a 1991 interview with Code One Magazine, Hillaker recalled how believers in a lightweight fighter became known as the fighter mafia.
"That was the title given to the small group of people responsible for the conceptual design of the lightweight fighter, what became the F-16," Hillaker said. "The group had three core members: John Boyd, Pierre Sprey and me. We were given the 'mafia' title by people in the Air Force back in the mid-'60s. We were viewed as an underground group that was challenging the establishment. We were a threat of sorts."
At the time, the U.S. Air Force was focused on fielding the F-15 Eagle. Development efforts for what became the F-16 were low key.
Hillaker wanted a plane that achieved speed and range by being small and more efficient than the much larger F15.
"If we wanted to fly faster, we made the drag lower by reducing size and adjusting the configuration itself. If we wanted greater range, we made the plane more efficient, more compact," Hillaker said.
Hillaker was born in Flint, Mich., and attended the University of Michigan. In 1941, he went to work with Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego, Calif., and a year later was assigned to the firm's Fort Worth plant.
Consolidated became General Dynamics, where Hillaker had a hand in several major projects, from the B-36 to the F-16. He retired in 1985, but continued to work with the U.S. Air Force and aviation groups.
Source
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3941936&c=AIR&s=TOP
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