engineering

Sighard F. Hoerner

Sighard F. Hoerner is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sighard F. Hoerner rather than just read about it. In short: Sighard F. Hoerner (18 April 1906, in Münster, Germany – 22 June 1971, in Brick Town, USA) was a German scientist.

Key takeaways

Sighard F. Hoerner belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sighard F. Hoerner to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sighard F. Hoerner from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sighard F. Hoerner (18 April 1906, in Münster, Germany – 22 June 1971, in Brick Town, USA) was a German scientist. An important figure in the aerodynamics field, he is known for his two compendiums of aerodynamic knowledge, Fluid-Dynamic Drag and Fluid-Dynamic Lift. He is also notable for his design work on the pioneering STOL aircraft, the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch.

Education Hoerner studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich, earning a Dipl.Ing. and he earned a degree as Dr.-Ing. in aerodynamics at the Institute of Technology at Braunschweig. Finally, he obtained a degree as Dr.-Ing.-habil. from the TH Berlin.

Career Initially, he served as research assistant at the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt fur Luftfahrt (DVL, near Berlin). After this, he worked as an aerodynamicist at the Fieseler Corporation, where he worked on the aerodynamic design of the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch STOL aircraft. From there, he went to Junkers, where he worked as the head of design aerodynamics, before going to Messerschmitt, where he worked as a research aerodynamicist during World War II. After the war, he was "invited" (Operation Paperclip) to emigrate to the United States, where he worked in aerodynamics at Wright Field in Ohio. Eventually, he ended up working as a specialist in aerodynamics and hydrodynamics in the field of naval architecture at Gibbs & Cox, Inc. in New York City.

Contributions In 1945 and 1946, Hoerner prepared a manuscript for the book Aerodynamic Drag. The technical publishing houses in New York City were not confident enough to bring a book as specialized as this to the market. As a result, he published the book himself in 1951, using a photo-offset process and sold copies of the book by mail order from his home. The book got very good reviews and demand was steady. In 1958 it was reissued as Fluid-Dynamic Drag. With the rapid progress in aerodynamics over the years, he prepared an update to the book, which was published in 1965. As before, the book was self-published by Hoerner Fluid Dynamics. This book contains documentation of the worldwide knowledge (at the time) of the sources of aerodynamic drag and the means to quantify aerodynamic drag. While substantial knowledge on this subject has been learned since 1965, this book is often the starting point in work where aerodynamic drag must be calculated. The US Navy Office of Naval Research gave Hoerner a contract in the mid-1960s to write a companion volume Fluid-Dynamic Lift. Co-authored with Henry V. "Hank" Borst, this book was published by Hoerner Fluid Dynamics in 1975. Unfortunately, Dr. Hoerner died before publication. This book, like its companion, contains documentation of the worldwide knowledge on the generation of aerodynamic lift and is still used heavily.

Personal life Dr. Hoerner was married to Liselotte A. Hoerner. After his death, she continued the mail order business, selling copies of both books to engineers around the world.In 1 marriage Dr. Hoerner married Käte Sommer, the daughter of an academic family from Pölitz. However, this marriage lasted only from 1933 to 1941.

References

Bibliography

External links DAR Corporation's bookstore - one source for Dr. Hoerner's books

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sighard F. Hoerner

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sighard F. Hoerner claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sighard F. Hoerner before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sighard F. Hoerner ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sighard F. Hoerner

In research: Sighard F. Hoerner appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sighard F. Hoerner in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sighard F. Hoerner is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1906 births, 1971 deaths, 20th-century American engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sighard F. Hoerner outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sighard F. Hoerner in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sighard F. Hoerner means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sighard F. Hoerner out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sighard F. Hoerner in simple terms?

Sighard F. Hoerner (18 April 1906, in Münster, Germany – 22 June 1971, in Brick Town, USA) was a German scientist.

Why does Sighard F. Hoerner matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sighard F. Hoerner?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sighard F. Hoerner.