Transcribed and Edited by SS (6/2002), Reformatted by JS (06/2009)
Career
- President of two different model clubs by age 21
- Helped with three Formula I racers
- Held pilot’s licenses for single, multi and glider
Honors
- AMA Life Member
James Artz By Jim McNeill
To James Artz, a busy aircraft industrial engineer with Rockwell International, airplanes are more than a hobby – they are a way of life. Starting young, Jim at age five was building model planes with his older brothers, Hank and Bill. By the time Jim turned 10, the three fastened a Brown Junior engine onto an original Free Flight and were urging it to fly. Subsequently they advanced to Comet Clippers, Zippers, Playboys, Korda rubber jobs, and Valkyries. Together and individually, the brothers built numerous models, running the gauntlet of those then available. An amicable person, Jim became president of two different model clubs before he was 21. Choosing a career in aviation, Jim went after the real airplanes with the same zeal he had for the miniature ones. He started at the bottom, as mechanic, welder, machinist, assistant crew chief, flight engineer, foreman, senior flight test engineer, spacecraft lead engineer (during which time he helped set up the White Sands Testing Grounds) and, finally, achieved his current status of industrial engineer. In this position, he is responsible for the initial test facilities of the B-1 aircraft at the liaison between the base engineers, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the contractor. He also designs the layouts for new hangar arrangements, supervises their construction, and fabricates support items for testing.
His early training in hand and mind coordination has served Jim well, enabling him to solve innumerable perplexing problems. He is credited with the invention and development of an automatic sewing bobbin, a jet engine pilot burner nozzle, a dual pressure-reducing regulator, and an “aileron induced” washout effect mechanism.
At home Jim is finishing [a] high performance full-sized sailplane with which to challenge the 46,267 foot altitude record [and] has built and flown a biplane and helped with three Formula I racers. He holds pilot’s licenses for single, multi, and glider. Jim even has a Radio Controlled model airplane under construction. Jim and his wife, Eloise, have two sons, James, Jr. and Richard, and live in Quartz Hills, California.
Why did Jim Artz become an AMA Life member? He did so in a spirit of gratitude. Here is what he says about modeling: “My interest in model making has had a direct influence on my job placement and advancement over the years, due to skills developed through the hobby. AMA deserves a lot of credit for keeping this interest glowing. My donation is a repayment, in an extremely small way, for what I feel the AMA has done for me and others.”
We welcome this distinguished engineer, AMA L12, to our small AMA Life member group.
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