Lincoln's Chakoian enters Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame

LINCOLN - George Chakoian flew 46 combat missions in a B-24 bomber over the Pacific during World War II, and later, continued serving the military in civilian life as an aerospace engineer at the U.S. Army Natick Research and Development Center. There, he developed airdrop systems for military aircraft, winning three design patents over the years.

On Saturday, Nov. 21, Chakoian will be inducted into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame at a ceremony and dinner in the Varnum Armory in East Greenwich. The public is invited.

Between his stint in the U.S. Army Air Force and working at Natick, Chakoian earned college degrees in machine design and mechanical engineering. He worked as BIF Industries as a design engineer on instrumentation for pneumatic and electronic control systems, at the U.S. Naval Underwater Ordnance Station at Newport as a mechanical engineer on the design of submarine-launched torpedoes, and as a supervisory engineer at the U.S. Naval Aircraft Torpedo Unit at Quonset. But it was at Natick where he rose to the top of his field, briefing five-star generals about his plan to standardize external loads on military helicopters, and it was there his designs were patented.

He represented the U.S. Army and government at conferences throughout the world, authored technical reports on research and development of aerodynamic deceleration systems for the Department of Defense weapons systems. He served as chairman of the 1989 International Conference and Symposium on Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Chakoian retired from government service in 1990.

Chakoian joined the Army Air Force at 18, served 32 months, and retired as a technical sergeant in 1945 after the war was over.

He's lived in Lincoln for 55 years, and he and his wife, Marion, have three grown daughters.

Tickets to the induction ceremony are $45 each, or $80 per couple.

For more information, call 398-1000 or 831-8696.