AEDC pioneer visits wind tunnels he helped design

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Eighty-nine year old Robert Tatro had the opportunity to return to Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) to see the developments made since he was employed at the base in the mid-to-late 1950s.

Though now residing in San Diego, Tatro once worked at Arnold Air Force Base as an engineer for ARO, Inc., a subsidiary of Sverdrup & Parcel organized in 1950 to manage and operate AEDC.

Mr. Tatro graduated in 1949 from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering and in 1951 went to work for Sverdrup in St. Louis as a member of the original AEDC design team. He later moved to Tullahoma to join ARO as one of the designers of the exhaust gas scavenging and air-makeup air supply systems for the 16 foot transonic and supersonic wind tunnels. From 1953 to 1956 he worked under the direction of Heinrich Romm and Dr. Bernard Goerthert in the Propulsion Wind Tunnel (PWT) branch.

He was invited back to AEDC for a visit by his grandson, Ryan Tatro, ATA Flight Systems Test engineer. The tour of 16T and 16S was the first time that Mr. Tatro had seen the scavenging systems installed.

Most of the facilities at the Complex today had not been constructed when Mr. Tatro worked at AEDC so it was also exciting for him to see how it all came together. After the visit, he said, "Touring AEDC was the highlight of my trip. AEDC is one of the best places to start a career. It is a shame that so many people have no idea that a place like this exists, even other people in the aerospace industry."

In addition to his work at AEDC, Tatro is a U.S. veteran, having served in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a P-51 pilot stationed at Iwo Jima during WWII.