Hamilton Standard - History

History

Standard Steel Propeller had been formed in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Hamilton Aero Manufacturing had been formed in 1920 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Thomas F. Hamilton. Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis used a propeller made by Standard Steel Propeller Company in his historic solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.

In the early 1930s Frank W. Caldwell of Hamilton Standard led a team that developed a variable-pitch propeller, using hydraulic pressure and centrifugal force to change the angle of attack of the blades. Caldwell received the 1933 Collier Trophy for this advance in flight propulsion. Later advances included full-feathering and reversible propellers.

Hamilton Standard was a division of United Aircraft Corporation (1934) along with Pratt & Whitney (engines).

In the early 1950s Hamilton developed the technology to accurately meter fuel in jet engines, and its fuel controls were employed on Boeing 707's and Douglas DC-8's. In 1952 Hamilton Standard opened its plant in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. In 1958 Hamilton's first environmental control system entered service on the Convair 880. In 1968 Hamilton began delivering automatic, electronic systems for control of cabin pressure in aircraft. Hamilton's mechanical fuel controls, in use since the 1950s, evolved into electronically controlled fuel controls and, eventually, to Full Authority Digital Electronic Controls (FADEC) for jet engines and are in use today on many commuter, airline and military engine applications. Hamilton's environmental systems and early association with NASA were highlighted in the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing - supported by environmental control, fuel cell and life support systems manufactured by Hamilton Standard.