Description
The collection contains items reflecting Mr. Mohrlock's career in aircraft design and engineering and, in particular, his
work with pilot escape systems in aircraft and space vehicles.
Background
Hugo Frederick Mohrlock attended Syracuse University, California Aeronautical Technical Institute and Purdue University.
Mr. Mohrlock has extensive experience in aerospace engineering. He was a design engineer for McDonnell Aircraft for one year,
followed by three years at Emerson Electric as a design engineer in armament electronic system design.
He was associated for over nineteen years with General Dynamics and its predecessor companies. Mr. Mohrlock joined Convair
in 1950 where he supervised the Crew Stations Design Group, specializing in cockpit arrangements and instrumentation, breathing
systems, flotation and survival equipment, pressure helmets, pressure suits, crew harnessing and restraints, and emergency
escape capsules. Project management experience has included research and development of pilot escape systems for the F-102
and F-106 aircraft; Convair 990 crew and passenger compartments and Centaur programs; design and feasibility studies on interim
and advanced space stations; space vehicle command module and associated systems: guidance and control, structure and heat
shield, launch escape and earth landing, human factors and crew environment and communications. He was Project Engineer for
the General Dynamics/Astronautics proposal on Apollo. Supervisory and management positions included group engineer, design
specialist, project engineer and technical staff to chief engineer.
He later joined Tally Industries where his assignments included the overall project management of the Minuteman Silo Lid Actuator
and Minuteman Umbilical Retractor.
Mr. Mohrlock has authored many papers, including "Crew Escape and Survival from Space Vehicles," "Aircraft Performance Factors
Related to Escape Systems," and "The Development of RESCU, Mark I." These and papers on many related subjects have been presented
to industry technical groups and published in various technical journals. He holds a number of patents, including Canopy
Actuator and Emergency Removal Device, Pilot Water Immersion System, Supersonic Escape System, Torso Restraint Harness, and
Fluid Hose Coupling.
Extent
.5 Cubic Feet
The collection consists of one archival box, 12-1/4” x 7” x 10-1/4 inches. In addition, SDASM received proposals and reports
from General Dynamics/Convair, and from other aircraft companies which have been placed in the Museum subject files. There
was also a large number of the Convair newsletters which have been housed with the others in the Museum collection.