William Hewitt Phillips

William H. Phillips details a short theory on how a rotating body would be affected by the release of a despin device, including a figure drawn in pencil.

Record of invention forms for an automatic aileron trim control device for airplanes.

Phillips' copy of the review of the stabilization and control of the lunar module during approach and landing.

Request for review of Apollo Lunar Module.

Final report of the Ad Hoc Mars Airplane Science Working Group.

William Hewitt Phillips, known familiarly as Hewitt, was born in Merseyside, England, in 1918, moving with his parents at age two to the United States. He studied aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in 1939 and a Master of Science in 1940. During his childhood, he developed an interest in model aircraft, and he maintained an active interest in the hobby throughout his life.

In July 1940, Phillips commenced service with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the Flight Research Division at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, specializing in the study of aircraft flying qualities and stability. Within this broader assignment, Phillips' task involved the improvement of World War II military aircraft flying qualities. Following the war, Phillips researched the development of jet-powered fighter airplanes, supersonic airplanes, stability augmentation and its effect on pilot control, automatic control, and gust alleviation.

As the U. S. space programs commenced, Phillips became chief of the Space Mechanics Division, supervising research in the areas of space rendezvous, navigation, and lunar landing and developing flight simulators for the Gemini and Apollo programs. To train astronauts for lunar landings, Phillips developed the Lunar Landing Facility. He later served as an analyst and consultant in the development of the space shuttle. Phillips died in 2009.

See finding aid for the William Hewitt Phillips Papers for additional material available to research.