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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family, friends, and former colleagues are mourning |
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the loss of aviation engineer Harry James Hillaker of Fort Worth, |
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who died on February 8, 2009, at the age of 89; and |
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WHEREAS, Harry Hillaker was born in Flint, Michigan, on May |
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9, 1919; after graduating from Flint Northern High School, he |
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studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Michigan; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1941 Mr. Hillaker went to work for Consolidated |
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Aircraft, which later became General Dynamics, in San Diego; in |
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1942 he transferred to the company's Fort Worth division, where he |
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worked on many of its major aviation projects, including the B-36 |
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and B-58 bombers; in 1962, Mr. Hillaker began to work informally |
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with Major John Boyd, a fighter pilot, and a group known as the |
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"Fighter Mafia" to design and promote a lighter, more affordable, |
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and more maneuverable fighter plane; and |
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WHEREAS, The eventual result of their efforts was the F-16 |
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fighter, and Mr. Hillaker led the General Dynamics design team that |
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produced this innovative and successful aircraft; the Fort Worth |
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plant where Mr. Hillaker worked, now part of Lockheed Martin, still |
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produces F-16s, and over the past 30 years, more than 4,400 have |
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been manufactured and the plane has become an essential part of the |
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air forces of some 25 countries; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Hillaker went on to serve as the chief project |
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engineer for the advanced versions of the F-16, and in 1980, he |
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became vice president and deputy program director for the F-16 XL; |
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he served two terms as chair of the aerospace vehicles panel of the |
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U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board; he retired in 1985, and in |
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1990, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering; and |
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WHEREAS, Affectionately known as "Daddy-O" to his family, |
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Mr. Hillaker was beloved for his warmth, his generosity, and his |
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sparkling sense of humor, and his role in the invention of the F-16 |
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has earned him a permanent place in the history of aviation; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Harry James Hillaker |
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and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his |
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wife of 65 years, Betty Hillaker; to his sons, Eric Hillaker and his |
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wife, Susan, and Harry Hillaker, Jr., and his wife, Michele; to his |
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daughters, Victoria Harrell and her husband, Howard, Deborah |
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Currier and her husband, Phil, and Missy Gillespie and her husband, |
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Jack; to his son-in-law, Dillon McDaniel; to his brother, John |
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Hillaker; to his 27 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren; and |
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to his other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Harry J. |
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Hillaker. |