Robert Edward Grigg(23 June 1924 – February 2002) was a British aerospace engineer, and was the chief designer of the highly-successfulBritish Aerospace 146(Hawker Siddeley).[1]
Early life
editHe was born inGreat Yarmouthon theNorfolkcoast. He was the son of Robert Grigg and Emily Rudderham.
Career
edit
British Aerospace 146
edit394 of the BAe 146 were produced, making it the most successful British airliner. Production started in 1983 and ended in 2002. It began as the De Havilland DH123, then the DH126 which was a scaled-up version of theDH125which had been built atHatfield.AsHawker Siddeleyit became the HS131.Woodford(formerAvrosite) was designing the HS860 and it was proposed to merge this design team with that of the HS136 inHertfordshire.A similar concurrent design was the proposed four-enginedArmstrong Whitworth AW.681.By 1969 the design had rear engines. On 29 August 1973 the HS146 project at Hatfield (formerde Havilland) was approved by Hawker Siddeley, with plans for a first flight by December 1975. On 21 October 1974 the project was deferred. AsBritish Aerospace,the project was restarted on 10 July 1978, with the first flight ofG-SSSHtaking place on 3 September 1981 piloted byMike Goodfellowwith Peter Sedgwick, another British Aerospace test pilot.
The aircraft type is now supplied byBAE Systems Regional Aircraft.The aircraft is known by airlines for its excellentSTOLcharacteristics. On 27 November 2001, BAE closed its Regional Jets programme. The last delivered was from Woodford on 25 November 2003 whenOH-SAP,a BAe RJ-85, was delivered forBlue1;this was also shortly before the last commercial flight ofConcorde.
TheBAC One-Eleven,a slightly earlier small airliner, sold 244.
Other projects
He also worked on thede Havilland Comet,theHawker Siddely Tridentand theAirbuswing.
Personal life
editHe married Patricia Williams in 1947. They had two sons in 1950 and 1957. He died in Luton in 2002, having lived previously inHarpendeninHertfordshire.
References
edit- Hawker Siddeley Aviation and Dynamics: 1960-77