Equations of Motion: Adventure, Risk and Innovation

From his teens to his 90s, William F. “Bill” Milliken has played a pioneering role in the key technical achievements of the American Century — the development of airplanes and automobiles for maximum stability and control.Inspired as a teenager by Lindbergh’s epic flight, Milliken designed, built and flew his own airplane by age 22. Graduating from MIT, he entered an aircraft industry gearing up for war. A daring airman himself, Milliken worked at great personal risk to push the B-17 bomber’s operating ceiling above the flak, and to prove the B-29 airworthy. After the war, at the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratories (CAL), Milliken spearheaded a fundamental change in how aircraft are designed.Ever ready for adventure, automobile racing became Milliken’s major hobby. As a guiding force of the infant Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), competition led Milliken to recognize the applicability of his aeronautical research to the automobile’s safety and performance. The new discipline of vehicle dynamics — Milliken’s second fundamental contribution to human transportation — has earned him the highest engineering honors. At 95, major auto racing teams still seek his consultation. His technical texts are required reading for today’s automotive engineers and students.The sign for Milliken’s Corner along the old Watkins Glen Grand Prix course alerts drivers to slow down, but even today, Bill steps on it. The only thing he is certain will happen is that he’ll learn something.