Peter Frank "Pete" Girard (May 5, 1918 – February 12, 2011) was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

pilot, Chief Engineering

Test Pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

for

Ryan Aeronautical The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and tec ...

, and the first man to hover in a jet vertical flight. This feat was accomplished on November 24, 1953, during tests that would culminate in the development of the

Ryan X-13 Vertijet The Ryan X-13 Vertijet (company designation Model 69) is an experimental tail-sitting vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft built by Ryan Aeronautical and flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project wa ...

. He would later accomplish the first full-cycle vertical takeoff, horizontal flight, and vertical landing in a jet aircraft on April 11, 1957, at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

. Prior to working with Ryan, Girard worked at

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

and served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

pilot.

Early life and USAAC

Born in 1918 in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

, Girard was raised on a cattle ranch, first in Cachagua and then in Tularcitos, in the Carmel Valley near the

Central Coast of California The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populat ...

. Girard was graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, class of 1940. While working at Curtiss-Wright he joined a cadre of like-minded engineers who learned to fly in gliders purchased by the group. During World War II, Girard enlisted in what was then the United States Army Air Corps, and advanced through flight training, becoming a multi-engine

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

pilot flying B-24s. He mustered out of the Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant at

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

Chief Engineering Test Pilot

After his military service, Girard found employment at Ryan Aeronautical in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, initially in the metallurgical department, then as Chief of the Physical Test Section of the Engineering Laboratories, and later as their Chief Engineering Test Pilot. During this time Girard attended the 10th class of the

United States Naval Test Pilot School The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Patuxent River, Maryland, provides instruction to experienced United States Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and foreign military experim ...

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comm ...

, graduating second in his class of 36 as a civilian among military pilots. This prepared him to test a variety of new-concept designs including the

and the Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane, and he performed test flights at various airfields including Edwards Air Force Base in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. By this time specializing in vertical and short-take-off aircraft (

V/STOL A vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is an airplane able to takeoff and landing, take-off or land vertically or on short runways. VTOL, Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do ...

), his most notable moment occurred on July 29, 1957: While demonstrating the capabilities of the X-13, he landed vertically before an audience of some 3,000 officers and journalists at the steps of

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

. After twelve years as Chief Engineering Test Pilot, he then served as Chief of Aerodynamics and Chief of Preliminary Design, finally retiring as Chief of Advanced Products for Aircraft Engineering, where he was responsible for designing remotely piloted air vehicles and other technical innovations. His experiences are recounted in the book ''Jet Pioneers'' (Grover Heiman, 1963 Van Rees Press, NY, Chapter 10, "Hanging on Hot Air"), and a segment produced by

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

entitled "Secret Superpower Aircraft: Quest for Vertical Take-Off". The X-13, with Girard in the pilot seat, was featured on the cover of the May 20, 1957 issue of ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine. The two X-13 aircraft constructed are now in aviation museums; one is in the

San Diego Air & Space Museum The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. It is located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building (San Diego), Ford Building, which is li ...

and the other is in the

National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is ...

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. Girard continued his activities in vertical flight and other areas and was awarded more than thirty patents at Ryan Aeronautical and after retirement. His last patent was obtained just a few years before his death.

Other activities

Girard’s passion for flight carried over into his personal life. He owned and fabricated

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

s and

experimental aircraft An experimental aircraft is an aircraft intended for testing new aerospace technologies and design concepts. The term ''research aircraft'' or '' testbed aircraft'', by contrast, generally denotes aircraft modified to perform scientific studies, ...

, continued to privately test small aircraft into his sixties, and would design and fabricate prototype components for

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

and other unique air vehicles both on his own and in collaboration with others such as Ryan Aeronautical founder Tubal Claude Ryan. His marriage proposal to his wife of more than fifty years, Leslie Girard (née Gehres, daughter of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Leslie E. Gehres of the USS ''Franklin''), was made aboard a sailplane off

Torrey Pines Gliderport Torrey Pines Gliderport is a city-owned private-use glider airport in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, United States, 11 nautical miles (20 km) northwest of downtown San Diego. It was first established as a soaring sit ...

. Girard was the author of at least seven published technical papers, and in 1963, he was awarded the I.B. Laskowitz Gold Medal by the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

for a technical paper on VTOL flight. He was an Associate Fellow of the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

. a member of the

American Helicopter Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, the

Soaring Society of America The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...

, and the Associated Glider Club of Southern California. He was a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of California.

Patents

Peter F. Girard, professional engineer of California, had more than 30 patents approved. * 1961
US3025022
Filed: Jan 16, 1961. ''Delta Wing Heliplane'' * 1962
US3135483
Filed: August 20, 1962. ''Auxiliary Boom Control System for Rogallo Type Wing Aircraft'' * 1962
US3135482
Filed: December 26, 1962. ''Flexible Wing STOL Assist System for Aircraft'' * 1963
US3152778
Filed: Feb 25, 1963. ''Articulated Spreader Bar Lateral Control System for Flexible Wing Aircraft'' * 1963
US3155341
Filed: Apr 5, 1963. ''Convertiplane'' * 1963
US3146970
Filed: July 1, 1963. ''Heliplane'' * 1963
US3306559
Filed: November 4, 1963. ''Roll Control System for Flexible Wing Aircraft'' * 1963
US3203649
Filed: Dec 23, 1963. ''Rotor Flap High Lift System'' * 1964
US3159360
Filed: Jan 20, 1964. ''Jet Powered VTOL Aircraft''. Co-inventor with Tubal Claude Ryan. * 1964
US3273827
Filed: Apr 27, 1964. ''Propeller-rotor High Lift System for Aircraft'' * 1964
US3269674
Filed: June 26, 1964. ''Flexible Wing With Pitch Stabilizing Means'' * 1964
US3223361
Filed: Oct 5, 1964. ''Flexible Wing with Integrated Tail Unit'' * 1965
USD203523
Filed: Apr 12, 1965. ''Rotary Wing VTOL Aircraft with Tiltable Secondary Wing''. This is an ornamental appearance design patent. * 1965
USD203524
Filed: Apr 19, 1965. ''Tandem Wing VTOL Aircraft''. This is an ornamental appearance design patent. * 1965
US3273655
Filed: Aug 2, 1965. ''Center Body Pivotally Retractable Rotor'' * 1966
US3361388
Filed: March 7, 1966. ''Demountable Aircraft with Flexible Wing'' * 1966
US3401906
Filed: May 3, 1966. ''Gyrochute'' * 1966
US3381919
Filed: Jul 25, 1966. ''Flexible Wing Aerial Delivery System'' * 1966
USD211215
Filed: Dec 16, 1966. ''STOL Utility Aircraft'' as ornamental appearance design patent. * 1967
US3464650
Filed: Oct 18, 1967. ''Aircraft with Flapped Rotor/Wing'' * 1968
US3490720
Filed: Nov 26, 1968. ''STOL AIRCRAFT WITH VARIABLE GEOMETRY ROTOR/WING'' * 1970
US3675582
Filed: Aug 5, 1970. ''Mass Transportation System'' * 1970
US3703998
Filed: Dec 28, 1970. ''Drone Aircraft with Telescopic Fuselage'' * 1972
USD230961
Filed: May 22, 1972. ''Airplane.'' Co-inventor: T. Claude Ryan. Ornamental appearance design patent. * 1972
US3827661
Filed: Jul 26, 1972. ''Aircraft Wing Structure and Method of Assembly.'' Co-inventor: T. Claude Ryan. * 1972
US3794273
Filed: Sep 25, 1972. ''VTOL Rotor Wing Drone Aircraft'' * 1972
US3792827
Filed: Nov 10, 1972. ''VTOL Aircraft with Cruciform Rotor'' * 1975
US3986686
Filed: Jun 2, 1975. ''Aircraft with Retractable Rotor Wing''

References

*Heiman, Grover, "Jet Pioneers", 1963, Van Rees Press, NY *Wagner, William, "Ryan, the Aviator", 1971, McGraw-Hill, NY *''Life'' magazine, May 20, 1957 *SD Evening Tribune, April 13, 1957, page A-1, "Vertijet Soars, Flies Level in Full Test" *SD Evening Tribune, Final Edition, April 13, 1957, page A-1, "Ryan First: Vertijet Rises, Then Levels Off" *SD Evening Tribune, May 9, 1957, page A-1, "Fist Photos of New Ryan Plane: Up! Up! Goes the Vertijet: Builders Give Description of Stubby Craft" *SD Evening Tribune, May 10, 1957, page A-1, "Ryan Bares Details on Vertijet Plane" *SD Union, May 10, 1957, page A-1, "New Air Warfare Concept Opened by Ryan's Vertijet" *SD Union-Tribune, Feb 17, 2011, page B-4, "Ryan Engineer Famed As Test Pilot, First to Fly Vertical-Takeoff Jet" *Carmel Valley News, May 24, 1957 "From Ranch to Ryan"

External links

Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum article on the X-13
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Peter 1918 births 2011 deaths American test pilots People from Monterey, California People from Carmel Valley Village, California United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II University of California, Berkeley alumni Military personnel from California