Dr. Wissler is the Director of Government Program Development at Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation in Cambridge, MA, responsible for program development and capture, as well as program execution. Prior to assuming his current position, he managed the Office of Naval Research-funded Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System, the objective of which was to develop an autonomy kit to enable helicopters to deliver supplies to forward-deployed, disbursed Marines at austere outposts and was Aurora’s Vice President for Research and Development. He also led the Aerospace Systems Division comprised of Aurora’s Cambridge-based aerospace design, propulsion, and structures engineers. Before joining Aurora, he had a 30-year USAF career, mostly in research and development, and retired as a Colonel; his final active duty posting was as Deputy Director of Engineering at Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, MA. Among his many assignments on active duty, he led the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) 600-person/$200M per year Air Vehicles Directorate, where he was responsible for leading the development of advanced technologies in aerodynamics, controls, and structures. He also led AFRL’s Battlespace Environments Division, where he oversaw programs in space weather, space-based sensing, and atmospheric impacts on terrestrial systems, and the USAF Academy’s Aeronautics Laboratory, where he led and managed the Academy’s aeronautics teaching and research facilities and taught classes in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics analysis and design. Dr Wissler has a Ph.D from California Institute of Technology, a Master of Science (Aeronautical Engineering) from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Maryland, as well as a Masters in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. He is an FAA-licensed private pilot who is working on his instrument rating as a path toward what he hopes will be an instructor rating in the not-so-near future.
From a practical perspective, we teach introductory aeronautics and propulsion short courses to anyone working directly or indirectly in the field of aviation.
Why Take A Course with Practical Aero?
More than ever, today’s aircraft are complex systems requiring skilled professionals to combine their specific expertise into a fully integrated vehicle. The professionals who engineer, test, manufacture, and in any way support these aircraft are accomplished specialists, but often lack an overall understanding of the airplane system as a whole. Fundamental understanding of the airplane-engine system gives you improved ability to communicate more effectively and frame thinking beyond your area of expertise.
Search
