The Pylon Place - February 2013
Off Season - History
By Marilyn Dash
Looking forward to seeing the Lewis Air Force flying again soon (Tim Adams)As many of you know, I’m fascinated by aviation, history, science and the direction and sequence of how things came to be. Because of that, I have been doing a “This Day In History” or “This Day In Science” bit every day. I believe we take for granted so many things around us with little thought of how these items came to be. So, while things are slow in the aviation off-season, I thought it would be fun to share some of the “Things we’ve learned from NASA.”
Temper Foam
Probably one of the most popularly inventions is the Temper or Memory Foam material. In 1962 a gentleman named Charles Yost had been contracted by NASA to help build a recovery system for the Apollo Command Module. Four years later, his experience with the recovery systems led him to assist in the project to improve aircraft seating.
This new seating material had to absorb energy and increase survivability in crashes. Yost created this Temper Foam with unusual properties allowing for high energy absorption and soft cushioning for comfort for longer periods of time.
By 1969, Yost established Dynamic Systems, Inc. to continue working on this new cushioning material.
More than four decades later, the world has come to realize that there are no bounds to temper foam’s benefits. Though the rights to the technology have been shared amongst many companies and manufacturers, the original product maker is still going strong, pushing additional cushion types including Foam in Place Seating (FiPS) and several varieties of temper foam cushions.
Today, temper foam’s original applications to absorb shock and provide an added element of safety can be found in NASCAR, Formula 1, and Indy Racing League racecars; football and motorcycle helmets, and horseback saddles; amusement park rides; and military and civilian aircraft. The technology has even been incorporated into so many different things – all because of the Apollo Program at NASA in the early 1960s.
Computer Mouse
While NASA didn’t exactly invent the mouse, related research led to this culture-changing innovation. Initially, the computer was a giant calculator. The invention of the mouse took it from a data manipulator and calculator to a graphical device.
In the early 1960s, Doug Englebart, was working for the Stanford Research Institute creating technology for NASA. He was developing flight controls and displays as well as simulation technology. The computers of the day were not able to do things beyond crunching numbers. But Englebart was interested in using computers in these more graphical ways.
He approached Bob Taylor of the Office of Advanced Research and Technology at NASA HQ with a proposal for a device to “manipulate data on a computer screen.” Taylor helped secure the funding needed to develop this new technology.
Englebart first envisioned more of a pen-like device, but testing continued until the early mouse was developed. The patent was granted in 1970 for an “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System”.
Unfortunately for him, the patent ran out before the mouse took off – so he saw no financial gain from his invention. But, the mouse in your hand right now was developed because of NASA and a gentleman named Doug Englebart.
Upcoming
Unless something really exciting happens in Air Racing or Aviation, I’ll probably delve into a few more things like this in the coming months. I hope we can learn a few new things together while we wait for the pylons to come up again.
Until then…
