{"id":460218,"date":"2004-06-01T15:00:34","date_gmt":"2004-06-01T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=101923"},"modified":"2024-01-04T22:33:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T22:33:13","slug":"flying-with-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/flying-with-eagles\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying with Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My first go\u00adod job after col\u00adl\u00adege was de\u00ad\u00adsigning suspension bits for Traction-Master Co. Later in 1968, I became a small contractor to Douglas Aircraft. In those days I enjoyed competing in slalom racing, which is how I met Elliott Forbes-Robinson who introduced me to Dan Gurney. After several lengthy interviews, Dan hired me in January 1970 to do trackside vehicle dynamics for both his Trans-Am Barracuda and USAC Indy car teams. I was fortunate to work with Dan throughout his last year of driving, and attended over 50 test outings and races that year. As time permitted, I\u2002apprenticed under chief designer Roman Slobodynskyj, who was incredibly kind and patient. They were both fine mentors.<\/p>\n

Dan retired and was replaced by Bobby Unser in 1971. I continued to do much of AAR\u2019s trackside chassis work for the next couple of years. I was better at R&D than drafting, so with my friend Bob Liebeck\u2019s tutoring I increasingly specialized in aerodynamics. (Today Bob is known as the father of Boeing\u2019s futuristic BWB, or Blended Wing Body, airplane.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n