George Tolmie Skinner was born July 22, 1923 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland, to James A. Skinner and Agnes Tolmie Skinner. George came of age under the shadow of war. At twenty, he crossed the Atlantic through U-boat-patrolled waters to train as a Royal Air Force pilot in the United States. He flew PT-17 Stearmans and AT-6 trainers in Texas before earning his wings in 1944 - a journey that began amid blackouts and air raids and led him to see the Statue of Liberty shining in peacetime light. From the cockpits of wartime trainers to the wind tunnels of cutting-edge aeronautical research, George T. Skinner's life spanned some of the most transformative decades of the twentieth century. His journey carried him from Scotland to North America, from fighter pilot training to doctoral research at Caltech, and into internationally recognized work in fluid dynamics and hypersonic aerodynamics. Yet this is not simply the story of war or science. It is the story of a man guided by fairness, determined to succeed without diminishing others, and devoted to leaving something meaningful for the generations who would follow. Presented in his own words and carefully preserved for his descendants, this memoir invites readers to reflect on courage, opportunity, and the quiet ways a life can shape the future.
He was internationally recognized for his work in fluid dynamics and hypersonic aerodynamics and also known for his development of apparatus to study molecular collisions in gases and electronic circuitry that made it possible to measure heat on the surface of space vehicles re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Skinner joined the technical staff of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory's aerodynamic research department in 1958, remaining with the company when it became Calspan Corp. He earned his bachelor of science degree in engineering, graduating with honors from St. Andrew's University. He was a fighter pilot in the British navy during World War II. He came to Canada after the war, spent a year as a research associate at the National Research Council in Ottawa where he met his wife, Joan Stewart. He went on to earn his doctorate from Caltech. In his lifetime, he authored more than fifty reports and articles in technical journals and was a member of the American Physical Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the honorary scientific fraternity Sigma Xi. He died in 1998 in Tullahoma, Tennessee, at the age of seventy-five.
Skinner, Deborah J.: - "Deborah J. Skinner BS: Art EducationDaemen College - Amherst, New YorkCum Laude plus 9 masters credits and Certified Art Therapist D. J. Skinner writes well-crafted narratives that reflect real-life relationships, love, loss and the resilience of the unspoken tapestry of our lives steeped in history. Her stories give voice to those truths and lets them rise to the surface in a way that connects our common journeys. She has always been fascinated by the idea of time travel and parallel universes, which she calls upon when writing middle grade fiction novels. She is currently compiling her father's posthumous memoir series, which focuses on his declassified work as an Aeronautical Innovator pioneering in hypersonic aerodynamics. Her father was internationally recognized for his development of apparatus to study molecular collisions in gases and electronic circuitry than made it possible to measure heat on the surface of space vehicles re-entering Earth's atmosphere. His RAF Journal isn't just military history; it's a bridge between three generations of service that she brings to life for her grandson who is serving in the Navy. These are the stories of a pilot who mastered the PT-17 Stearman and a scientist who helped us reach for the stars."
Skinner, George Tolmie: - George Tolmie Skinner + was born July 22, 1923 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland and was internationally recognized for his work in fluid dynamics and hypersonic aerodynamics and also for his development of apparatus to study molecular collisions in gases and electronic circuitry that made it possible to measure heat on the surface of space vehicles re-entering Earth's atmosphere. In his lifetime, he authored more than fifty reports and articles in technical journals and was a member of the American Physical Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the honorary scientific fraternity Sigma Xi. He joined the Royal Air Force in of 1943 and kept a journal of his travel experiences as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean, eventually landing in New York Harbor where he traveled by train to Terrell Texas to begin Air Craftsman training. He became a Sergeant pilot in 1944 and completed his training as a fighter pilot in Perthshire, Scotland. He finished his BS degree in engineering, graduating with honors from St. Andrews University in Dundee, Scotland. He won the Caird Travelling Scholarship that financed two years at Caltech and won the 1948 engineering medal. He returned to California where he received his Doctorates in Engineering in 1955 and completed his PHD at Caltech, then joined the technical staff of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory's aerodynamic research department in 1958, remaining with the company when it became Calspan Corp. After his death in 1998, he was inducted posthumously into the Niagara Frontier Aviation and Space Hall of fame in 2002 for his internationally known work in low-speed fluid flows and hypersonic aerodynamics and his molecular Beam Theory that was used to study ways to detect the re-entry of missiles into the earth's atmosphere.
