Autobiography, ca. 1995

This collection contains an autobiographical typescript draft by William Hewitt Phillips, an aerospace engineer for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and National Air and Space Administration (NASA) at Langley Research Center and chief of the Flight Dynamics and Control Division from 1970 to 1979. The text is a preliminary draft for Phillips' Journey into Aeronautical Research: a Career at NASA Langley Research Center. The manuscript briefly follows Phillips' early life, interest in aviation, and education, then describes in more depth the author's work at NACA. Among the chapter headings are "Problems Encountered as a Result of Wartime Developments," "Accident Investigations," "NACA Flight Research on the Vought F8U-1 Airplane," and "Administration of the Langley Research Center." A final brief chapter, "Dawn of the Space Age," provides background on the formation of NASA in 1958.