August Raspet

He was one of the most influential contributors to the science of aeronautics, dealing primarily with efficiency in flight, aerodynamics and wing design structures.

In 1942 he began as a research physicist for the Gould Aeronautical Division of Pratt Read and Co. in Deep River, Connecticut.

While at Specialties, Inc. he became the Director of Research of the Soaring Society of America (The August 1960 edition of its monthly magazine is entirely dedicated to Raspet) for the glider phase of Project Thunderstorm.

[2] On 27 April 1960, Raspet was involved in a plane crash during a demonstration of a Piper Cub with boundary layer modifications at Starkville, Mississippi's George M. Bryan Airport.

Through several experiments involving laminar friction curve and high-lift boundaries, he made several breakthroughs regarding sailplanes that would later be incorporated in light aircraft.