Ben Berry and His Solar-powered AirShips

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 2 Comments

Ben Berry’s father, Ben Berry, Sr., was a Tuskegee Airman, part of the second wave of African-American recruits who fought their way into the Army Air Corps in 1943.  Instead of fighters, this group learned to fly the B-25 Mitchell bomber and was to launch from aircraft carriers for tactical attacks on Japan. Following the war, Ben’s father earned an aeronautical engineering degree, and applied his skills to solving a worrisome pitch stability problem on the XB-70.  He designed the control systems for the X-15 project – which required a mix of aerodynamic controls and thrusters. Perhaps this proud background helped his son recently become Chief Technology Officer for the City of Portland, following a career as Chief Information Officer for the Oregon Department of Transportation, Regional Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for a major hospital chain, and in senior leadership positions with the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian International Airports, and Hughes Aircraft Company. In his spare …