Ted R. Smith (1906–1976) was an American aircraft designer. He worked for the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and military, defense company based in Southern California. Founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr., it merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell D ...

, Aero Design and Engineering Company, and Rockwell Standard Corporation. In 40 years, his designs included the Douglas

A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...

(under the direction of

Ed Heinemann Edward Henry Heinemann (March 14, 1908 – November 26, 1991) was a military aircraft designer for the Douglas Aircraft Company. Biography Heinemann was born in Saginaw, Michigan. He moved to California as a boy and was raised in Los Angeles. A ...

), and the first all metal small twin engine business aircraft for

Aero Commander Aero Commander was an aircraft manufacturer formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a subsidiary of Rockwell International and Gulfstream Aerospace. The company ceased aircraft production in 1986. History Aero was formed in Culver City, ...

, a company that he helped to start. The Aero Commander line included one of the first twin engined business jets, the Jet Commander. In the 1960s, he designed and manufactured the Aerostar line, under his own name. The Aerostar was later built by

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th cent ...

, as the

Piper Aerostar The Piper Aerostar (formerly the Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, but the design was acquired ...

Smith was born in

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is a city in and the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. Its population was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. After the 20 ...

. His family later moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, in 1916, where he graduated

Oakland Technical High School Oakland Technical High School, known locally as Oakland Tech or simply "Tech", is a public high school in Oakland, California, United States, and is operated under the jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District. It is one of six compre ...

in 1925 and soon developed his first aircraft, a tube and fabric glider. In 1929, Smith graduated from the

Boeing School of Aeronautics The Boeing School of Aeronautics was a school that operated in Oakland, California from 1929 to 1945. It taught the design, maintenance, and flying of aircraft made by the Boeing Airplane Company. In its later years, the school was known as the U ...

. In 1935, Smith started his career at Douglas as a tool designer that would lead him to work on the B-18, B-23, and finally lead engineer on the A-20 project supervising 500 employees before leaving to form his own company.

References

External links

Ted R. Smith – Aerostar DesignerStars and Commanders"Ted Smith Has Done It Again"
December 1966
Ted Smith, Oakland Tech CentennialTed Smith's Dream, AOPA News
1906 births 1976 deaths Aviation inventors Businesspeople in aviation People from Oroville, California Oakland Technical High School alumni {{aviation-bio-stub