Typhoon wrote:^ Nice post, very interesting. Shame he never got the patent, FLIR has been a huge part of modern aviation!
We got the patent. I can find it on the net using my dad's and his partner's name. I'd post it save that it really connects my family name with my pofo moniker which is already used enough places elsewhere to make connections that might not be healthy for me.
The problem is the royalties for the patent after FLIR was sold from Texas Instruments to Ross Perot's EDS and then the subsequent sale to Raytheon.
I contacted Texas Instruments back in the mid 90s following the war in Kuwait and they recognized who I was. They told me they remembered my dad being on the cover of their annual reports in the mid 70s.
As I approached attorneys in the area at the same time, I was repeatedly given warnings about doing business with local attorneys because it was more likely they would be supportive of TI as a corporation. Being that the patent was already more than 20 years old, it was pretty much a dead end for me.
Despite that I have several reels of the test footage and it is certainly historically significant, Raytheon refuses to respond.
I have seen where the Smithsonian already has a certain amount of FLIR related material in their archives, so I reckon that is where the 16mm footage will eventually be placed.
I found links today that go to the Philippines armed forces where they are trying to double check if the FLIR in their possession was on an Aero Commander or a Turbo Commander....along Shrike lines. They kept thinking it was something that would be lowered out of the fuselage when needed for use, but it always sat under the nose as a ball from the beginning. That was the whole logistical engineering problem my dad solved.
If I can come up with some photos of the original, I will be sure to post them.
"Butter is fresh. Margarine is indestructible."