Jay Sieling:  

My Life Story: Been There, Done That. Got: 2 diplomas; 4 employers; lapel pins; beer steins; coffee mugs; and an authorized model of the Comanche helicopter. In the 1950s, I: * graduated from Susquehannock High School in PA. I. SUSQUEHANNOCK HIGH SCHOOL - Sep 1 1949 - May 28 1953 - Class of '53. Senior Class of '53 Officers were: Mary Bierly, Historian; Allan Holland, Treasurer; Carolyn Miller, Secretary; Jane Anderson, Vice President; and me, Jay Sieling, President - Honor Students all. (Not to brag, but I was the only one of the group that lettered four times in football.) * entered UVA School of Arts and Sciences in Charlottesville, VA; lasted one semester. II. UNIVERSITY 0F VIRGINIA - ARTS AND SCIENCES: Sep 1 1953 - Jan 1 1954. Did not graduate! The shock of trying to coordinate Math, Physics, football, and dormitory living was just too much for this naive country boy. * got a job in a furniture factory. III. SIELING MODERN FURNITURE COMPANY: Jan 1 1954 - Sep 1 1954: Did odd jobs while transitioning from UVA-Arts & Sciences to UVA-Engineering. * applied to the UVA School of Engineering for the the Fall-of-'54 semester and was accepted. IV. UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA - ENGINEERING: Sep 1 1954 - Jun 9 1963. Graduating class of '63! Apparently, passing of "college" math was one reason for the E-school to accept me. - Originally signed-up in the Mechanical Engineering Department majoring in Aeronautical Engineering - blew away first semester of this one, too. Re-started E-school by transferring to the Electrical Engineering Department majoring in Electronics. Seems I understood electrons better than 'free-bodies". * lived in a dormitory room for a year. * joined AFROTC; washed out two years later: Red-Green color blind. * married my MPT, a college Math major/Physics minor; moved us into an upstairs apartment in Charlottesville. * brought new daughter, Carol, and her mom home from the hospital two years later. * started a series of part-time technical jobs that lasted until graduation. These paid 40% of my college tuition. V. The TUITION AID jobs consisted of: Va. TUITION AID - 1: Sep 7 1957 - Sep 1 1959. This part-time job in Specialties, Inc. design and drafting department augmented family income to support what became an extended, part-time E-school curriculum. Vb. TUITION AID - 2: Sep 8 1959 - Oct 31 1960. Next got a FCC First Class Radio Telephone Operator License. and accepted a part-time job on the two, co-located, Charlottesville, VA radio stations (WCHV and WCCV-FM). In the 1960s, I: * Returned to Specialties, Inc. Vc. TUITION AID - 3: Nov 1 1960 - Jun 9 1963. This time, was offered and accepted a job as an electronics laboratory technician in one of Specialties, Inc. development labs. After graduation, was promoted to an Avionics Engineering position with Automated Specialties, nee Specialties, Inc. VI. ON MY WAY: Jun 10 1963 - Dec 31 1965. Teledyne Inc. acquired Specialties, Inc. of Charlottesville, VA; Automated Specialties was born. AOA-based APCS; Normalized AOAI systems; and an RGA pitch attitude guidance subsystem augmenting Collins Radio's FD-109 flight director system were added to Specialties product list.. > As an Assistant Project Engineer for avionics, my first assignment was to adapt APCS computers to various U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier-based attack aircraft. Responsibilities included hardware and circuit design; system integration; and flight tests of various embryonic RGA systems. VII. APCS SUPPORT TRANSITIONS TO RGA DEVELOPMENT (Part 1, APCS): Jan 1 1966 - Dec 31 1967. > Promoted to Project Engineer for the APCS. Supported flight tests of APCS designs at Patuxent River NATC; at sea on two separate aircraft carrier suitability cruises; and a U.S. Navy project in West Germany. VIIa. TDY: AUGSBURG W. GERMANY: Aug 15 1966 - Nov 30 1966. As part of an on-site U.S. Navy BUWEPS Liaison Team in West Germany, provided support to West German Air Force testing of an Automated Specialties' APCS on the Loockheed F-104G Starfighter. The Lagerlechfeld airbase, near Augsburg, was the origin of these tests. ~ Off-duty sight-seeing in historic Augsburg produced some souvenirs; at trip to to the opera; a late-night visit to a real cabaret (WOW!); and walks in the park cogitating the Roman ruins. * was legally separated from MPT; felt that the company later sent me to West Germany to "get over it". * moved in with Bill, a good friend and co-worker with a nice Charlottesville apartment. * finalized divorce from MPT. * married Helen Marshall a year and a half later; Bill vacated the apartment and Helen moved in. * traveled a lot in the last half of this decade, to wit: Patuxent River NATC, MD; Lagerlechfeld W. German AFB, near Augsburg; Andrews AFB, MD; Wright-Patterson AFB, OH; Collins Radio Co., IA; Tinker AFB, OK; Offutt AFB, NE; and Edwards AFB, CA. VIII. APCS SUPPORT TRANSITIONS TO RGA DEVELOPMENT (Part 2, RGA): Jan 1 1967 - Dec 30 1969. Accepted position as Project Engineer for RGA development. > Responsibilities included hardware and analog computation circuits, system integration, flight-test of a prototype RGA system (for many hours) on a USAF KC-135A aircraft ("Speckled Trout", tail no. 55-3126) out of Andrews AFB. > Responsibilities also included RGA System technical liaison with Collins Radio Co. during USAF proposal phase for the use of the RGA as a subsystem to the Collins' FD-109 dual Flight Director System on C/KC-135 cargo and tanker aircraft.. WE WON! - successfully completed Passenger Phase Physiological Training at Offutt AFB required for in-flight support of the Flight Director/RGA acceptance testing at Edwards AFB. - went to the flight tests at Edwards AFB but didn't fly. VIIIa. KC-135: Jun 15 1968. The KC-135A (military) and the Boeing 707 (commercial) airplanes were derived from Boeing's Model 367-80, thus the family resemblance. The prototype RGA System was development-flight-tested on a KC-135A configured as an avionics testbed as-well-as a VIP transport; i.e. sans fuel transfer equipment. VIIIb. Code named Speckled Trout, after Faye Trout, the freckle-faced civilian program monitor at the Lab [Wright Lab then; Air Force Research Laboratory now], aircraft 55-3126 was the first of a long list of Speckled Trout aircraft and probably the only shiny, polished-aluminum aircraft in the (painted) KC-135 fleet. In the 1970s, I: * joined the AIAA. * brought new daughter, Karla, and her mom, Helen, home from the hospital; moved the family to a house in Charlottesville, VA. IX. TELEDYNE AVIONICS: Jan 2 1970 - Jan 2 1973 - The company name changed from Automated Specialties to Teledyne Avionics. My next assignment was RGA Engineering Manager for the production phase of Teledyne Avionics' RGA subsystem on the C/KC-135. IXa. As such, my duties included: - liaison with Collins Engineering on system logic and interfaces. - review of RGA system analyses to confirm proper hardware/software integration. - analyze the Teledyne RGA hardware packaging documentation to confirm proper emphasis on reliability, maintainability, and configuration control. IXb. VARIOUS TELEDYNE AVIONICS ENGINEERING STAFF ASSIGNMENTS: Jan 3 1973 - Nov 30 1979. > As Project Engineer for electronic instruments, I: - revised APCS computer maintenance manuals. - supported the APCS manufacturing engineering section. - designed custom analog circuits for aircraft instruments and test equipment. - prepared technical proposals for AOA equipment marketing. > As Senior Project Engineer for AOA systems, I: - directed the engineering group that designed commercial systems and hardware for stall warning/stall prevention systems; normalized AOA indication systems; and aircraft automatic throttle control systems. - supported customer FAA certification programs for new, normalized AOA indicator systems on Gulfstream, Sabreliner, Falconjet, and Citation business jets. - introduced stall warning computers for the Learjet and the Diamond 1 business jets to the company product line. - spent two weeks in Lakeland, FL in the middle of summer (flight-test ramp was hotter than the hinges of hades!!) providing AOA support for flight tests of a new Piper aircraft; ultimately the twin-engine, T-tailed Cheyenne II. IXc. Attended AIAA SEMINAR IN DENVER, CO: Aug 3 1979 - Aug 6 1979. The company sent me to this seminar on the "Microprocessor Control of Aerospace Vehicles". The seminar was under the direction of Donald C. Fraser, Director, Control and Flight Dynamics Division The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. - My first pair of cowboy boots came from a store in Denver. * We moved to a new house in Earlysville, VA; more space; closer to work. In the 1980s, I: * accepted an Avionics Engineering position with CGAD of Rockwell International, nee Collins Radio Co.; moved the family to Iowa. X. ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL: Dec 3 1979 - May 10 1984 Joined Rockwell International's CGAD in their Cedar Rapids, IA facility. During the 4.5 years there, I was: - Avionics System Engineer for the U. S. Coast Guard SRR helicopter. - System Engineer for Sikorsky Aircraft's X-Wing rotor control system design while on TDY in Stratford, CT. - Avionics System Engineer on the CGAD department proposal effort for a new helicopter ASW avionics system. Xa. U. S. COAST GUARD SHORT RANGE RECOVERY HELICOPTER: Dec 3 1979 - Aug 29 1983: The HH-65A is known for its Collins' autopilot capabilities, which can complete an unaided approach to the water and bring the aircraft into a stable 50 ft (15 m) hover, or automatically fly search patterns, an ability which allows the crew to engage in other tas...Expand for more