Searching for information on Ken Carline (A.J.K. Carline)

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I am currently searching for information on my Grandad Ken Carline and was wondering if you could help me. I noticed you mentioned his name in conversation about The world’s first extreme altitude missile and I would love to find out more about the projects he worked on, I'm new to all this but there must be a way of finding out about his life in aviation?
 
Get into contact with the National Aerospace Library - they appear to have some stuff associated with a Ken Carline Bequest.

Regards,
Barry
 
Yes, We think the book may have never been printed, I even spoke to the British library with no joy, my Grandad apparently said that he was worried about it being given out for free on the Internet, so it never got any further. I was going to contact the publisher.
 
It might be a good idea to give us some more info on your granddad, so that we can narrow the search. Which period did he work? Where did he work (country and possibly company)? What was his profession? and similar stuff that you already know.
 
Ken Carline joined A.V. Roe in January 1946 and then worked successively for Fairchild, Hunting Aircraft, BAC, Marietta, Convair, Fairy S.A., B.Ae Warton, McDonnell/Douglas, Thermo-skyships, Gulfstreams, and Avtek before taking consulting assignments from 1985 to the present.
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He worked on Vulcan and the Avro 720, not sure what else, he had a very varied career.
 
Airlife (the publisher) were acquired by Crowood Press. If they ever got a manuscript, they may be able to help you, but your grandad might never have completed it, in which case unless your family have a copy it may be lost forever.
 
I have an article he wrote on the Avro 720 (he was the chief designer I think?) if you want a copy. He was living in France at the time it seems (Verdu, 16190 St Laurent de Belzagot, France).

The Development of the AVRO 720 A.J.K. Carline
published in UK Manned Rocket Aircraft, Space Chronicle, JBIS Interplanetary Society Vol. 55, Suppl. 2, 2002

Existing topic on the Avro 720 is here:


index.php


http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2338.0.html
 
Thanks very much to all of you, this is amazing stuff, I would love to see a copy of the development of the Avro 720!!! Can you email me it PaulMM ? Also My Grandad did live in France till his death and worked until he went Blind. I've heard many stories about him but would love to find out the truth about his adventures, I will quiz my mum and family again to get more information, I heard rececently that he had some heavy Russian organisation after him looking for information, maybe that had something to do with the Avro 720 or the Vulcan, I'd love to find out what he had to do with the Vulcan. I'll be back with more info soon.
 
I sent the article via email. Many of the pics were already posted in the topic above.
 
Mining the internet:


http://archive.org/stream/nasa_techdoc_19720012344/19720012344_djvu.txt

ccording to the Convair Division of General Dynamics ^ the aircraft of
the future will weigh approximately 20% less than present-day aircraft and it
will be possible to build it and operate it more cheaply. This is because of
the increased use of plastic components.] Just like Goodmanson, Ken Carline,
director of the General Dynamics Programs for Advanced Transport Technology at
the Fort Worth facility, believes that high subsonic velocities can be reached,
1060 km/h at an altitude of 12,200 meters, by using supercritical wing profiles
and fuselage shapes designed according to the area rule. He also believes that,|
for the same amount of fuel as for conventional jets, lit will be possible to
transport larger payloads over larger distances, and that the flight character-
istics in the transonic velocity range can be considerably improved. It is
possible that the air frame, wing surfaces and possibly also fuselage components
or the entire fuselage of a transport aircraft designed by General Dynamics |
will be made of graphite fiber reinforced plastic, which is lighter than the
light metal alloys used today. As Carline states, "Large aircraft components
can be made in presses by using bonding materials". A weight reduction of 20%
and considerable cost savings are possible by avoiding the conventional cell
covering technologies. The surface quality of transport aircraft of the future
which General Dynamics is studying will also be considerably better than in the
case of present day jets, because there will be no rivets and less joints.
Carline states that wings made up of composite materials and advanced flight
control installations should make aircraft travel during the 80 's much more
comfortable for the passenger than is the case today. Transducers in the flight
control installation will detect turbulence phenomena and will provide for 1
instantaneous equalization by appropriate commands which would result in deflec-
tions of the wing. General Dynamics is working closely with the engine manu-
facturers in order to develop new noise suppression, technologies for the aircraft]
to be used between the years 1975 and 1985. Carline believes that the noise
level of aircraft engines can be lowered on the order of 50%. tcarline and NASA |
believe that long-range transport aircraft of the future will exceed present-day
aircraft in terms of flight performance, economy, safety, and comfort. At the
same time, they will produce less noise and poisonous substances than
conventional jets.
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Chief Designer of Hunting Aircraft, 1963.
 

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Wow, this is amazing!!!! A lot to take in, but amazing!!! My Mum always said he had something to do with the Vulcan, I'm amazed how rich his career washing aviation.
 
There are many unsung heroes in aerospace. I gave a lecture to the RAeS a few years back on Avro's Weapons Research Division at Woodford. I was explaining how the Blue Steel was a technological miracle for its time and those that had worked on it deserved better recognition. There was an old bloke weeping at the front. Not due to my crap delivery, but he'd worked on Blue Steel, had had fifty years of being told it was crap and now, because somebody had bothered to look into the machine's background and development, was being lauded for its technological place in UK aerospace history. I was rather touched.

Chris
 
His move from General Dynamics Fort Worth to Fairey SA (Belgium) is on the balance of probabilities related to F-16 license production there.
 
Avro 1946 - 1955
worked on Avro Vulcan, initial Chief Designer for Avro 720
Hunting Aircraft 1955 - 1960
Initially Chief Technician, later designer for Hunting 107, which evolved into BAC One-Eleven
BAC 1960 - 1967
Hunting merged with BAC, 1960. Carline worked with other BAC designers to evolve his 30 seat 107 to the 59 seat One-Eleven.
Martin Marietta
Joined 1967 as Manager of Aircraft Design
Convair / General Dynamics Fort Worth
Manager, Advanced Transport Technology. Mentions in 1972, 1975 - Advanced civil aircraft design work including supercritical wings, hydrogen fuels etc
Fairy S.A. (Presumably Avions Fairey SA, Belgium)
Probably after "Contract of the Century" was signed in 1975 with General Dynamics and prior to May 1978 as after this the parent company went bust and Fairey SA was nationalised and renamed SONACA.
BAe Warton
?
McDonnell-Douglas
Douglas Aircraft (e.g. civil aircraft division) working on SST stuff prior to 1979.
Thermo-skyships
Chief Designer in 1979
Gulfstream
Director of Engineering in 1981
Fairchild
mentioned in 1985 NASA Laminar flow paper
Avtek
Vice-President in 1985
 
I worked with Ken in 1979 and 1980 at ThermoSkyships. I was the test pilot and ended working with Ken as a sort of design assistant. I supervised the wind tunnel testing at Southampton University and worked on the buoyancy control system of the airship.
Ken was a friend and an extraordinary engineer. Our paths crossed a few times after we left ThermoSkyships as we both lived in Surrey for a while. He corresponded with me while he was in France and mentioned his failing eyesight. I treasure the memory of the work we did together. Incidentally, I have been looking for a copy of his book "Journey of Innovation". If anyone knows where a copy can be found (even to borrow) I`d be grateful of any lead.
 
A couple of additional facts:
Ken was asked to join Convair because of the work on Delta wings he had done in the UK. He told me that he was given a US passport in a matter of a few weeks.
On the one-eleven, he told me that they received a visit by a group of Douglas engineers and that Douglas had told them thay they wanted to join BAC in the development of the one-eleven. As soon as the Douglas engineers had complated their briefings, Douglas started the development of the DC9 and totally snubbed BAC's overtures.
Ken was also a very enthusiastic proponent of using Hydrogen as a fuel: in fact it was the suitability of airships for the use of H fuel that convinced him to join ThermoSkyships, where we worked together.
 
Thanks very much, I had a great time reading this reply to my mum who remember all these things, she also loved hearing about you working with my grandad. She said she could remember typing secret documents for my grandad when she was young because he didn't trust people and she could type fast. She also talked about his involvement in early delta wing projects?
 
Hi, I realise this is a super old thread but I am researching a family member, Ernest Arthur Harrop and Ken Carline supported his application for Fellowship at RAeS in 1964 so they must have known each other at some point but I'm struggling to work out how their paths crossed. Harrop was in the RAF 1923-1963 so it's possible that's how?
 

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