Biographical Sketches

SHERMAN MILLS FAIRCHILD

Born: April 7, 1896    In: Oneonta, NY
Died: March 28, 1971    In: New York City, NY

Sherman Mills Fairchild’s outstanding contributions to aviation began during World War I when he developed an improved aerial camera with a between-the-lens shutter, forming the Fairchild Aerial Camera Corporation in 1920. It later became the standard aerial camera of the U.S. military services. He took it aloft to take 100 photographs that were pieced together to produce an aerial map of Manhattan, marking the true beginning of the aerial mapping industry with his Fairchild Aerial Surveys.

Fairchild soon realized that the biplanes he used were inadequate for accurate aerial photography, and formed Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Company in 1926 to develop a plane specifically for mapping flights -- an advanced monoplane as a stable camera platform having excellent visibility and a heated cabin for high-altitude work. Concurrently, he was also one of the founders of Pan American Airways and American Airlines.

The success of his camera planes, modified as well for passenger and cargo roles, led to Fairchild Co becoming the world’s largest manufacturer of cabin monoplanes. In 1936, his Ranger Engineering Corporation engine company developed the inline engine that also received wide acceptance from other airplane manufacturers.

For World War II, his company produced both engines and planes, notably the PT-19 and its PT-23 and -26 variants, the Duramold-construction AT-21, and C-82 Packet. After the war, the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar made its appearance, followed in 1953 by the larger and more powerful C-123 Provider.

The Fairchild-Stratos Corporation, formed in 1961, built meteroid detection satellites for NASA and, soon after, Fairchild cameras were used in the Apollo missions to provide the first precise photography of the moon’s surface. In later years, Fairchild programs specialized in solar cells for satellites, in modifying and repairing aircraft damaged in Vietnam and converting Flying Boxcars into gunships, and producing components for 747 airliners and F-14 fighters. Acquisitions in the 1960s of Hiller Aircraft and Republic Aviation produced jet-powered helicopters the F-105.

The diversity of Sherman Fairchild’s interests is reflected by some the professional groups of which he was a member -- American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Royal Aeronautical Society, Institute of Aerospace Sciences, Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers, Photographic Society of America, Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers, and Society of Photo Scientists & Engineers, and the Audio Engineering Society.

Shortly before his death, the Smithsonian Institution honored him on his 50th anniversary as a leader in the aviation industry.

Enshrined in National Aviation Hall of Fame 1979. ( -- Jean Lail NAHM)

Denotes an individual known to have soloed an aircraft prior to December 16, 1917, whether they were members of the "Early Birds of Aviation" Organization or not.