2013 Issue

28 In every month’s edition of Aerospace America, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) highlights anniversaries of milestones in space and aviation history in a piece known as “Out of the Past.” This February AIAA has a major milestone of its own, a golden one. O n January 31st, 1963, at mid- night the American Rocket Society and the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences officially merged to form what is now the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession and the statistics since then are astounding. Including its predecessor organizations, AIAA has published over 300 books and 200,000 technical articles over the past 80 years. The organization is responsible for seven technical journals, a magazine, three book series, national and international standards documents, a growing number of e-books and other electronic products, and a full-service, interactive website. For over 35,000 mem- bers in 64 local sections, AIAA gives 80 awards in dozens of technical areas and over $150,000 in scholarships, grants and honoraria per year. Clearly the society, made up of engineers, scientists, manag- ers, policymakers, students, and educators, has made extraordinary contributions to the industry, many of which were enabled by the thriving aerospace community here in Utah. A historical account shows the significance Utah has made and, despite the looming threats of budget cuts and a fiscal cliff, the future looks to thrive. The early 1900s boomed with excitement over the advent of aviation and Utah was no different. A crude runway laid with cinder in an otherwisemarshy area was built near Salt Lake City in 1911. Years later this area would begin mail service, host its first commercial flight, and now serves 20million passengers per year with over 600 departures per day. The Salt Lake City International Airport is one of 36 airports in Utah and has hosted many notaries such as boxer Jack Dempsey, Glenn Curtiss, and Charles Lindbergh. On the military side, Hill Air Force Base (AFB) has been a staple for Utah ever since it was established as the Ogden Air Depot in July 1939. In December of that year, the depot was renamed as Hill Field to honor Major Ployer Pete Hill who died due to a crash at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. A civil engineer with 20 years of military Out of the Past Celebrating 50 Years of AIAA and over 100 Years of Aerospace in Utah By Dr. Jeffrey C. Boulware, Chair of the Utah Section of AIAA Salt Lake City Municipal Airport in 1939. Image credit: airfieldsdatabase.com