David J. Farrar
Encyclopedia
David J. Farrar is an English
engineer who led the Bristol team which developed the Bristol Bloodhound surface-to-air missile
, which defended Britain's nuclear deterrent for many years and were widely sold abroad.
, England in 1921, Farrar was the elder son of Donald Frederic Farrar (1897–1982), a former Royal Flying Corps
supply pilot, and Mabel Margaret Farrar, née Hadgraft (1896–1985), and brother of RAF airman and poet James Farrar
.
He was educated at Sutton County School, Surrey
, and won three scholarships to Cambridge University, going up in 1939 to Gonville and Caius College. In his second year Farrar (at the age of nineteen) passed the Mechanical Sciences tripos
First Class with distinctions and a share in University prizes for aerodynamics and structures.
, he expected to go into the Royal Air Force
, having been an active member of the University Air Squadron
, but was assigned to the aircraft industry in the Bristol Aeroplane Company
, where he specialised initially in structural design. By the age of 25 he had devised new approaches to the design of compression structures and was in charge of the structural design of Britain's largest landplane, the Bristol Brabazon
aircraft.
In 1949, Farrar made in-flight observations of wing buckling in a Bristol Freighter
, which then did full power engine cut tests. On the next flight with the chief aerodynamicist and the head of flight test on board, full power engine cut caused the fin and rudder to break and all aboard were lost. The head of flight test was the designated head of the new Guided Weapons department, to which Farrar then succeeded. Contracts having already been let for army and navy anti aircraft systems, Bristol and Ferranti were teamed to study a longer range system for the Royal Air Force. The key to longer range was ramjet propulsion, which required extensive flight development. Despite this, the resulting Bloodhound 1 missile entered service before the other two.
On the formation of the British Aircraft Corporation Bristol had joined as a junior partner, with all guided weapon work assigned to English Electric
, whose guided weapon team had commenced the development of a weapon with second generation continuous-wave radar
(CW) guidance. The Bristol GW team was vulnerable, and two attempts to eliminate it were made. A Bloodhound I missile was rapidly modified to CW guidance and intercepted and destroyed the target aircraft. The other contractors had not reached this stage, so the Bristol Bloodhound II was developed for the Royal Air Force, Sweden and Switzerland. Its advanced features gave it a very long service life.
Farrar was appointed Technical Director of the combined GW Division, but within a short time all three Bristol directors who had opposed elimination of their team had been forced out.
He then became Engineering Director, Concorde, at Bristol. The Government was concerned about cost escalation and programme slip on the project and part of his brief was to correct these. With the help of a new programme manager and econometrics engineer, within a year (before the first prototype was built) he correctly established the causes as repeated redesign for an unrealistically low takeoff weight, and high aircraft cost. The latter had not been previously predicted and made airline orders unlikely. However, the French direction rejected design for a more realistic weight, so programme slip and cost escalation continued.
When international collaboration commenced on the Space Shuttle
design, he became the Director responsible for three British teams designing the payload bay doors, vertical stabilizer and instrumentation in Rockwell's winning bid for development. In 1973 he left the aircraft industry to became Engineering Director at Molins Ltd., developing a range of advanced machinery which provided the basis for their launch as a public company.
In 1979, Farrar became Director of the Centre of Engineering Design at Cranfield University
, retiring in 1986. He became Vice President until 2007 of the University of the Third Age
at Manningham
, Australia
and lectures there on the History of Technology.
s for exports and technology. He was the first Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors
Guided Weapons
Committee, a member of Royal Aeronautical Society
council, served on many professional committees, and in retirement lectured for the Institution of Engineering Designers
from whom he received an Honorary Fellowship.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
engineer who led the Bristol team which developed the Bristol Bloodhound surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
, which defended Britain's nuclear deterrent for many years and were widely sold abroad.
Early life and education
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England in 1921, Farrar was the elder son of Donald Frederic Farrar (1897–1982), a former Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
supply pilot, and Mabel Margaret Farrar, née Hadgraft (1896–1985), and brother of RAF airman and poet James Farrar
James Farrar
-Biography:Farrar was born on 5 October 1923 in London, the second son of Donald Frederic Farrar , a former Royal Flying Corps supply pilot, and Mabel Margaret Farrar, née Hadgraft . He lived in Carshalton, a small village in Surrey, England. He attended the local grammar school, Sutton Grammar...
.
He was educated at Sutton County School, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and won three scholarships to Cambridge University, going up in 1939 to Gonville and Caius College. In his second year Farrar (at the age of nineteen) passed the Mechanical Sciences tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
First Class with distinctions and a share in University prizes for aerodynamics and structures.
Career
It being the eve of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he expected to go into the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, having been an active member of the University Air Squadron
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which primarily provide basic flying training, force development and adventurous training to undergraduate students at British universities...
, but was assigned to the aircraft industry in the Bristol Aeroplane Company
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
, where he specialised initially in structural design. By the age of 25 he had devised new approaches to the design of compression structures and was in charge of the structural design of Britain's largest landplane, the Bristol Brabazon
Bristol Brabazon
The Bristol Type 167 Brabazon was a large propeller-driven airliner, designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company to fly transatlantic routes from the United Kingdom to the United States. The prototype was delivered in 1949, only to prove a commercial failure when airlines felt the airliner was too...
aircraft.
In 1949, Farrar made in-flight observations of wing buckling in a Bristol Freighter
Bristol Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
, which then did full power engine cut tests. On the next flight with the chief aerodynamicist and the head of flight test on board, full power engine cut caused the fin and rudder to break and all aboard were lost. The head of flight test was the designated head of the new Guided Weapons department, to which Farrar then succeeded. Contracts having already been let for army and navy anti aircraft systems, Bristol and Ferranti were teamed to study a longer range system for the Royal Air Force. The key to longer range was ramjet propulsion, which required extensive flight development. Despite this, the resulting Bloodhound 1 missile entered service before the other two.
On the formation of the British Aircraft Corporation Bristol had joined as a junior partner, with all guided weapon work assigned to English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
, whose guided weapon team had commenced the development of a weapon with second generation continuous-wave radar
Continuous-wave radar
Continuous-wave radar is a type of radar system where a known stable frequency continuous wave radio energy is transmitted and then received from any reflecting objects.Continuous wave radar uses Doppler, which renders the radar immune to interference from large stationary objects and slow moving...
(CW) guidance. The Bristol GW team was vulnerable, and two attempts to eliminate it were made. A Bloodhound I missile was rapidly modified to CW guidance and intercepted and destroyed the target aircraft. The other contractors had not reached this stage, so the Bristol Bloodhound II was developed for the Royal Air Force, Sweden and Switzerland. Its advanced features gave it a very long service life.
Farrar was appointed Technical Director of the combined GW Division, but within a short time all three Bristol directors who had opposed elimination of their team had been forced out.
He then became Engineering Director, Concorde, at Bristol. The Government was concerned about cost escalation and programme slip on the project and part of his brief was to correct these. With the help of a new programme manager and econometrics engineer, within a year (before the first prototype was built) he correctly established the causes as repeated redesign for an unrealistically low takeoff weight, and high aircraft cost. The latter had not been previously predicted and made airline orders unlikely. However, the French direction rejected design for a more realistic weight, so programme slip and cost escalation continued.
When international collaboration commenced on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
design, he became the Director responsible for three British teams designing the payload bay doors, vertical stabilizer and instrumentation in Rockwell's winning bid for development. In 1973 he left the aircraft industry to became Engineering Director at Molins Ltd., developing a range of advanced machinery which provided the basis for their launch as a public company.
In 1979, Farrar became Director of the Centre of Engineering Design at Cranfield University
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
, retiring in 1986. He became Vice President until 2007 of the University of the Third Age
University of the Third Age
The University of the Third Age is an international organisation whose aims are the education and stimulation of retired members of the community - those in the third 'age' of life. It is commonly referred to as U3A.- France :...
at Manningham
City of Manningham
The City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and lectures there on the History of Technology.
Awards and honors
He received the OBE for his work on Bloodhound I, and the teams which he led received four Queens AwardQueen's Awards for Enterprise
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
s for exports and technology. He was the first Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors
Society of British Aircraft Constructors
The Society of British Aerospace Companies, known as SBAC was the UK's national trade association representing companies supplying civil air transport, aerospace defence, homeland security and space...
Guided Weapons
Precision-guided munition
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....
Committee, a member of Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
council, served on many professional committees, and in retirement lectured for the Institution of Engineering Designers
Institution of Engineering Designers
The Institution of Engineering Designers is a British professional engineering institution founded in 1945. The IED is the UK’s only professional body representing those working in the fields of Engineering and Technological Product Design...
from whom he received an Honorary Fellowship.