Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America

Bernard Lindenbaum began his long career in rotorcraft design and engineering in 1943 when he was appointed a de la Cierva Fellow at New York University's College of Engineering. He was a student and protege of Dr. Alexander Klemin.  In 1944 he received his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering degree and returned to the US Army Air Corps (later to become the US Air Force) at Wright Field. He joined the American Helicopter Society in 1945. Most of Mr. Lindenbaum's professional life was devoted to helicopter design and development and later, V/STOL airplanes. His work carried particular weight since his life spanned a period when a considerable investigation was being performed on various concepts with different propulsion approaches and rotor systems. During his service with the Army and Air Force, he held positions ranging from Junior Aeronautical Engineer to Deputy for Analysis in the V/STOL Technology Division of The Flight Dynamics Laboratory at Wright AFB.  

The list of projects which he was engaged reads like a history of the early US aviation industry. Rotorcraft design included the Sikorsky R-5, Kellet SR-8, "Synchropter", Firestone XR-9, Kellett XR-10 Synchropter Transport, Bell XR-12 utility and light transport, Firestone XR-14 twin tail rotor helicopter, Piasecki XH-16 tandem rotor transport, Hughes XH-17 pressure jet rotor helicopter, Sikorsky H-19 light transport, Piasecki's H-21 Arctic Rescue, American H-26 pulse jet-driven rotor, Bell H-40 (later UH-1), and the Kaman H-43.  

In addition, he performed the research and development on a range of V/STOL, airplane designs, including the Bell XV-3 tiltrotor, Hiller X-18 tilt-wing, Avro "Avrocar", Hawker P.1127 lift/cruise jet, and the Custer "Channel Wing." He retired from the Air Force in 1972 and became a consultant to the industry as well as the Air Force on V/STOL and rotary wing concepts. He participated in the early NACA (now NASA) Helicopter Subcommittee, was US Data Exchange Officer on V/STOL aircraft with governments of France and Germany, and authored "V/STOL, Concepts and Developed  Aircraft."  

Mr. Lindenbaum served in a variety of AHS leadership roles as a member of the board of directors and founder and officer of the AHS Dayton Chapter. He was awarded an AHS Honorary Fellow in 1970 and in 1974 he received the Society's Alexander Klemin Award for notable achievement in rotary wing aeronautics.

In 2003, the AHS History Committee named its award for the best history session paper at the Annual Forum the “Bernard L. Lindenbaum Historical Paper Award.”

Bernie died on September 27, 2002, following a stroke and subsequent fall at a Dayton, Ohio hospice. 

AHS Update: Vertiflite Fall 2002