Charles Joseph Fletcher
Charles Joseph Fletcher | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1923 |
| Known for | Hovercraft |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aeronautical Engineering Inventing Business |
Charles Joseph Fletcher, of Franklin, New Jersey[1], is an American inventor and businessman, and holder of over seventy patents. He is believed by many to be the first inventor of the Hovercraft;[citation needed] certainly he is the leading American candidate for that distinction. He is the president of Technology General Corporation, a small ($2 million annual revenue) manufacturer of drawn metal products, spray coating systems, power mixers, and commercial ice crushing equipment. Fletcher penned his autobiography, Quest for Survival, in 2002. Fletcher earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in aeronautical engineering from New York University in 1950. A contributor to the X-15 rocket, Fletcher also worked on the test version of the Lunar Landing Module, and holds seventeen aeronautical patents on vertical lift and rocket engines. [2] [3] Fletcher was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1992 and the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1993.
References
- ^ Manchester, Lee. "The resurrection of Wellscroft", from Adirondack Life, September/October 2002. Accessed October 2, 2007. "The new owner was Charles Fletcher, of Franklin, N.J. The retired Navy aviator and inventor was (and continues to be) president of a corporation that manufactures aeronautical equipment."
- ^ Fletcher, Charles (2002). Quest for Survival. Glenridge Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-944435-50-5.
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While serving as a pilot in the U.S. Navy in Norfolk, Va., Charles J. Fletcher sketched the design for a vehicle envisioned to rise above the water or terrain (approximately 10 inches to two feet) depending on available horsepower. The vehicle would generate an airflow trapped against a uniform surface such as the ground or water, freeing it from the surface and eliminating friction. Positive control and movement would be attained using aircraft control techniques and the release of air.
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