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Fowler (Harlan D.) Papers
MSS-1995-04
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Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: Harlan D. Fowler Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-1995-04
Physical Description:
17 boxes
(27.5 linear feet)
Collection also includes materials in 2 flat file drawers, 5 freestanding models and one Fowler Flap Model in a box.
Date (inclusive): 1920-1980
Abstract: The Harlan D. Fowler Papers (1920-1980) document the career of Harlan D. Fowler, inventor and aviation engineer. The collection
consists of his professional papers including technical reports, blueprints, original data, technical publications, drawings,
and photographs, as well as airplane models relating primarily to the Fowler flap and the Fowler-designed air cargo container.
Collection is open for research, however, the negatives and the Fowler drawings are restricted. Written permission is required
to access these drawings, and usage of the materials is subject to approval by the San Jose State University Library Director
of Special Collections & Archives.
All large-scale blueprints noted in the collection are stored separately in flat-file storage. A model of an airplane cargo
container, which was previously part of this collection, is owned by the SJSU Aviation and Technology Department.
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the
original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Harlan D. Fowler Papers, MSS-1995-04, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed by Sara Chabino Lott in 2004. Revised by Mary Ellen Petrich in 2009. Encoded by Mary Ellen Petrich. Reviewed
by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen. Accruals added and finding aid updated by Samira Habibi April 2018. Accrual added and finding
aid updated by Eilene Lueck March 2022.
Born June 18, 1895, Harlan Davey Fowler grew up in Sacramento, California. Fowler married twice and had two children. He spent
his professional life as an aeronautical engineer and inventor. He died on April 27, 1982.
The year 1917 marked the beginning of Fowler's life-long career as an aeronautical engineer and inventor. Fowler worked as
an independent consultant and also for a number of aeronautical firms including: Fokker, The Glenn L. Martin Co., Convair,
Douglas Aircraft Co., Fowler Aircraft Co., the Bureau of Aeronautics, and the U.S. Air Force. He also patented twenty inventions,
the most significant of which include: Variable-Area Wing, 1921, patent #1392005; Cargo Container for Airplanes, 1948, patent
#2442459; and Convertible VTOL Aircraft, 1963, patent #3093347, and 1967, patent #3312426.
His greatest professional achievement was the development of the variable area wing, commonly known as the Fowler flap. The
Fowler flap is a high-lift device located on the trailing edge of an airplane wing that increases wing area and lift. During
the late 1910s and early 1920s, many engineers experimented with wings, slots and flaps to improve airplane performance. Fowler
developed a flap that slid back from the wing and rotated down, creating a slot. This flap increased the curvature and area
of the wing, which tunes it to operate more efficiently at lower speeds occurring during take-off and landing. The design
and testing of the Fowler flap was performed as a private venture, using Fowler's own time and funds.
In the summer of 1927, Fowler and airplane mechanic Stanley Crowfoot first tested the Fowler flap. Several years of tests
followed, after which the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) concluded that the Fowler flap would reduce landing
speed, decrease landing and take-off runs, and improve climbing ability. In 1937 Lockheed added the flap to the Lockheed 14
twin-engine airliner. Previously the flap had been used on German planes such as the Fieseler Fi 97. Later it was used on
Boeing B-29 bombers, some versions of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, and the Boeing B-17. Today, variations of the Fowler flap
are still being used on many commercial aircraft.
In 1949 the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania awarded Fowler with the John Price Wetherill Medal for the development
of the "Variable Lift Airplane Wing." In 1971 the Institute elected him to Life Fellow Membership. Fowler was active in the
Society of Automotive Engineers and was elected to the status of Fellow in 1977.
Fowler wrote a comprehensive text on flap design,
Fowler Flaps for Airplanes: An Engineering Handbook (1948). He also published three books outside his field:
Camels to California (1950),
Three Caravans to Yuma (1980), and
Behold the Flaming Sword (1983).
| 1910 | Built man-carrying kites of Cody/Hargrave type. |
| 1917 | Signal Corps; Aeronautical Engineer Production. |
| 1919-1920 | McCook Field, Dayton, OH. Engineering Division; Assistant Engineer in charge of design. |
| 1921 | Mather Field, Sacramento, CA; Assistant Engineer; Aerial Forest Fire Patrol. |
| 1922-1925 | G. Elias & Bros., Buffalo, N.Y.; Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co.; Naval Aircraft Factory. |
| 1925-1927 | Pitcairn Aviation Co., Philadelphia, PA. |
| 1927 | U.S. Army Air Corps; Engineer. |
| 1928 | Miller Corp., New Brunswick, NJ; Chief Aeronautical Engineer. |
| 1929-1936 | Glenn L. Martin Co., Baltimore, MD; Staff Engineer. |
| 1943 | Fowler Aircraft Co., San Diego, CA. |
| 1946 | Independent Consulting Aeronautical Engineer. Whittier, CA. |
| 1951 | McCook Field, Dayton, OH; Engineering Division. |
| 1956-1957 | Independent Consulting Aeronautical Engineer. Longmont, CO. |
| 1962-1974 | Independent Aeronautical Consultant. Burlingame, CA. |
| 1975-1982 | Retired. Solvang, CA. |
San José State University Department of Aviation and Technology Records, MSS-2010-06-08
Scope and Content of Collection
The Harlan D. Fowler Papers (1920-1980) document the career of Harlan D. Fowler, inventor and aviation engineer. Fowler is
recognized for inventing the Fowler flap, a variable area wing high-lift device for aircraft still used on most commercial
airplanes today. The collection consists of his professional papers including technical reports, blueprints, original data,
technical publications, drawings, and photographs, as well as airplane models relating primarily to the Fowler flap and the
Fowler-designed air cargo container. This collection documents the history of technology, the history of aviation, and the
development of the aircraft industry during World War II.
The collection is arranged into nine series: Series I. Commercial Uses of Fowler Designs; Series II. Fowler-Designed Aerodynamic
Flow Control Devices; Series III. Original Fowler Aircraft Designs and Data; Series IV. Air Cargo Reports and Data; Series
V. Miscellaneous Reports; Series VI. Aircraft Conversion Reports and Data; Series VII. Artifacts; Series VIII. Publications;
and Series IX. Images.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Harlan D. Fowler in 2004.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Airplanes -- Design and construction -- History
Aerofoils
Fowler flaps
Aeronautics -- Research -- United States -- History
Aeronautics -- History -- 20th century
San José State University. Library. Special Collections & Archives