Glidden Doman (January 28, 1921 – June 6, 2016) was an American aeronautical engineer and pioneer in helicopters and modern wind turbines. He founded one of America's original six helicopter companies (Doman Helicopters, Inc.) after making major contributions to the use of Sikorsky helicopters during World War II. Doman Helicopters' most prominent achievement was the Doman LZ-5/YH-31 eight-place helicopter, which received FAA certification on December 30, 1955. The unique feature of this helicopter was its hinge-less but gimbaled, tilting rotor hub that greatly reduced stress and vibration in the blades and the whole helicopter. Doman was one of the first to transfer knowledge of helicopter rotor dynamics technology to wind turbines. The 1973 arab oil embargo prompted NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio to lead a 7-year US wind energy program for the development of utility-scale horizontal axis wind turbines. This program featured the creation of Boeing's MOD-2 with the Doman conceived flexible rotor design, two-bladed wind turbine with a teeter hinge. Following the NASA project, while working for Boeing, Hamilton Standard division of United Technologies, and Aeritalia (later known as Alenia) in Italy, Doman developed large two-bladed, teeter-hinged wind turbines, including the WTS-3, WTS-4, and the Gamma 60. After testing the Gamma 60 wind turbine in Sardinia from 1992 - 1997, Doman and Italian nuclear mechanical engineer Silvestro Caruso founded Gamma Ventures, Inc. to further develop and market this technology. Gamma Ventures subsequently invested in, and sold a license to Seawind Ocean Technology of the Netherlands, to commercialize the same two-bladed, teeter-hinge wind turbine concept. Doman, along with noted German-born aerospace engineer Kurt Hohenemser (a partner and confidant of the well-known German airplane and helicopter designer Anton Flettner), maintained that a flexible two-bladed helicopter type wind turbine rotor design that is compliant with the forces of nature was more suitable for producing electricity than the rigid industry standard three-bladed airplane type wind turbine rotors that, by design, can only be constructed to resist the forces of nature. Two of Doman's helicopters, the converted Sikorsky R-6 (Doman LZ-1A) and a Doman LZ-5/YH-31, are on display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Early life Glidden Sweet Doman, the son of Albert E. Doman and Ruth Sweet Doman, was born in Syracuse, New York, on January 28, 1921. Living in the small upstate New York village of Elbridge, Doman came from a family of inventors and entrepreneurs. His father Albert and uncles Lewis and George Doman were the first to provide electricity for Elbridge, in 1890. Doman's elder half-brother, Carl T. Doman, designed air cooled Franklin engines for Franklin automobiles and for aircraft – including for the pioneering Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter. In his teens, Doman built a series of six motorized "go carts", and in 1936, at the age of 15, he built a Soapbox Derby racer, the first to be aerodynamically streamlined. He won the regional Soapbox Derby race held in Syracuse and placed well in the national championship race in Akron, Ohio. (2)(4) Doman also attempted to build an airplane, completing much of the fuselage, but was never able to obtain an engine for it. In 1938, Doman enrolled at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) College of Engineering, where he majored in aeronautical engineering. While at Michigan, Doman joined and later became president of the flying club. Another member of the flying club, Joan Hamilton, Doman's future bride, was the only female member of the club. Hamilton obtained her private's pilot license and later during World War II she was invited by the famous aviator Jackie Cochran to join the WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots), but she declined the offer.
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