William John Strang, C.B.E., F.R.Eng., F.R.Ae.S. 29 June 1921 – 14 September 1999

Abstract

Bill Strang was a dedicated aerospace engineer of great integrity and much respected by all who came into contact with him. He was Technical Director of the Commercial Aircraft Division of British Aerospace until he retired in 1983 to become Chairman of the Airworthiness Requirements Board. All his postgraduate career was spent in the British aerospace industry, mostly at Filton near Bristol, except for a brief spell in the Aeronautical Research Laboratory, Melbourne, Australia, from 1948 to 1951. Dr Strang made the biggest industrial contribution to the aerodynamic design of Concorde and in 1977 was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society as a result; he served on several of the Society's committees from 1977 until 1989. From 1983 until 1990 he was Chairman of the Civil Aviation Airworthiness Requirements Board. He was also a keen sailor and became a Coastal Skipper with The Island Cruising Club at Salcombe before qualifying for his Master's Ticket with the Royal Yachting Association. He loved the countryside and walking. He was awarded a C.B.E. in 1973 and in 1997 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. The Royal Aeronautical Society awarded him the Silver Medal in 1971 and the Gold Medal in 1973. In his later years he suffered from a heart problem that was the cause of his death in 1999.