NASA Oral History Project: NACA,
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Before NASA there was NACA – the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Started in 1915, the original focus deemed by the federal government was for the advisory panel of 12 people “to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight, with a view to their practical solutions.” A few years after its inception, the Committee became an organization with a more broadened purpose. During the next forty-three years, the work of NACA members impacted aircraft developed for wars, commercial travel, and journeys beyond the earth’s atmosphere.

However, with the birth of the nation’s space agency, NACA faded gently at the four facilities where it had thrived and was dissolved officially on October 1, 1958. At the Langley, Ames, and Lewis Research Centers, as well as the High Speed Flight Station (Edwards AFB, CA), NACA members transitioned quietly to the new organization, NASA. They took their experience, their knowledge, their passion, and the traditions gained from working as NACA and used these as a foundation to forge the future achievements in American aviation.

This NASA Oral History Project captures the experiences of some of the individuals representing the four NACA facilities and its headquarters, giving the project a reflection of contributions and projects from each of the centers.

Aaron, Bertram D. 4-1-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Bahan-Szucs, June C. 9-29-05	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Baker, Charles N. 2-19-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Barnicki, JoAnn H. 2-20-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Becker, John V. 5-3-08	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Boyd, John W. 10-3-05	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Carlson, Harry W.	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Cavallo, Stefan A. 9-30-05	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Champine, Gloria R. 5-1-08	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Cole, Henry A. 7-16-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Curley, Harry & Nona 2-17-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Dibella, Jo 10-2-05	NACA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Dome, Cecil G. 2-18-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Drake, Hubert M. 9-30-05 (85K)	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Dusterberry, John C. 9-29-05 (102K)	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Forestieri, Americo 6-6-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Geye, Irene M. 6-5-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Gibbs, Byron & Nellie 2-18-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Graham Robert W. 9-30-05	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Hallberg, Donald L. 2-20-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Hendricks, Robert C. 6-3-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Hess, Jane S. 4-2-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Jaehnig, Eleanor 4-2-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Johnson, Mary Ann 4-3-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Johnson, Sugenia M. 4-2-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Keener, Earl R. 7-17-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Kehlet, Alan B. 9-30-05 Bio Sheet	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Kenner, Gene A. 10-2-05	High Speed Flight Research Station, Edwards Air Force Base, California
Kilgore, Edwin C. 5-3-08	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Kordes, Eldon E. 2-19-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Kraft, Christopher C. 8-5-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Kurkowski, Richard L. 7-14-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Kuhn, Richard E. 5-2-08	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Lunney, Marilyn K. 6-11-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Mallick, Donald L. 2-18-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
McIver, Duncan 4-1-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
McTigue, John G. 9-29-05	Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California
Mort, Kenneth A. 7-17-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Ostrach, Simon 6-4-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Pearson, B. Doug 7-18-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Petersen, Richard H. 7-14-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Peterson, Victor L. 10-3-05	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Presley, Leroy L. 7-16-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Reed,Wilmer H. 4-3-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Saltzman, Edwin J. 2-17-15	High Speed Flight Station, Edwards, California
Schmidt, Stanley F. 7-15-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Silveira, Milton A. 10-2-05 4-18-06 Bio Sheet	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Simon, Dorothy M. 8-23-12	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Smull, Ruth Hoover 5-1-08	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Spritzer, Edith K.	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Stone, Jay E. 7-18-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Syvertson, C.A. "Sy" 9-29-05	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Taback, Israel 4-30-08	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Tower, Leonard K. 6-4-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Vincenti, Walter G. 7-15-14	Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California
Walker, Ernie D. 6-5-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Weiss, Calvin W. 6-6-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Weiss, Solomon 6-6-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Wine, Howard T. 6-3-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Woods, William C. 4-1-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Wynne, William A. 6-3-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Yeates, John E. 4-3-14	Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia
Zaretsky, Erwin V. 6-4-14	Lewis Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio
Alphabetical List A-B C-D E-G H-J K-L M-N O-R S-T U-Z Administrators Aviatrix Herstory Ballistics JSC OHP ISS OHP Orion OHP NACA OHP Experts OHP Space Shuttle Program Earth System Science NASA at 50 STS Recordation Chilean Miners Rescue Shuttle-Mir OHP SCA-SRB OHP C3PO OHP

More transcripts are available from the alphabetical list above or from the complete list of participants.

Please note: Links on the following pages are active once the Oral History transcript is archived in the JSC History Collection.

To view the newest additions to the JSC History Collection, visit the "What's New" announcement.

Transcript lists were last updated: Jan. 31, 2020