R. Dale Reed

R. Dale Reed was an aerospace engineer who pioneered lifting body aircraft and remotely piloted research aircraft programs at Dryden Flight Research Center in 1953. Reed is also known for conducting aerodynamic loads research on the X-1E, X-5, F-100, and D-558-II aircraft.

Reed retired in 1985, but returned as a contract aerospace engineer to work on the X-33, X-36 and X-38 research vehicles, two of which featured lifting body configurations. In all, Reed managed 19 projects and designed a dozen aircraft during his career.

He died March 18, 2005, in San Diego.

Awards

Before his retirement from NASA in 1985, he won four NASA awards ranging from the Exceptional Service Medal to an Associate Fellow Award.

Sources

Reed, R. Dale, and Darlene Lister. Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1997. Print

Hallion, Richard, and Michael H. Gorn. On the Frontier: Experimental Flight at NASA Dryden. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. Print.

Dunbar, Brian. "Driving Forces." NASA. NASA, 12 Jan. 2009. Web. 06 June 2014.