Richard Duncan Hiscocks

Richard Duncan (Dick) Hiscocks, M.B.E., B.Eng., D.Sc., LL.D. (Hon), was born in Toronto, Ontario, on June 4, 1914. He had determined to  pursue an aviation career by the age of ten. While in high school he won first prize for both scale and flying model aircraft at Canadian National Exhibition competitions. His early education was received at Winchester Public School and Jarvis Collegiate in Toronto.

Hiscocks graduated from the University of Toronto's inaugural class in Engineering Physics in 1938. While attending university, he obtained summer employment at de Havilland Aircraft Company of Canada Ltd. (DHC), working on the assembly of the Rapide and the Dragonfly. Following graduation, he was hired by DHC and sent to the de Havilland (U.K.) main design office at Hatfield, England.

In 1940 Hiscocks returned to Canada to accept an offer from the National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa, Ontario, where he was assigned to the structures laboratory. He led a group that responded to wartime metal shortages, concentrating on wood replacement projects. He had a major role in designing wooden parts for the Harvard that never went into production, and wooden parts for the Anson Mark V that did go into production and saw substantial service.

In 1945, with a group of scientists, he was sent to Germany to examine German technological advances, and returned with insights that would be put to good use in the design of post-war Canadian aircraft. In 1947 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) for his work with the NRC.

Hiscocks returned to DHC in 1946, and joined Chief Designer Fred Buller on the Beaver project. His main contribution to the Beaver was the design of the wing geometry, including an airfoil curve of his own calculations. He became Chief Engineer at DHC in 1949, and continued working with Buller to develop the Otter, Caribou, Buffalo, and Twin Otter. All of these aircraft utilized the rugged short-field performance associated with the Beaver, which became a distinctive de Havilland Canada feature.

Hiscocks fostered research and development work in aerodynamics, structures, rough field landing gear, and other technologies that helped to establish DHC's place as the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft with short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities. These aircraft needed the ability to operate safely from rudimentary, short airstrips, and required full international civil airworthiness approvals to enable world wide sales.

In 1968 he rejoined the NRC as Vice-President of Industry, a post he held until 1976. In this position he was charged with assisting Canadian industry, including aerospace, to make the best possible use of the facilities and expertise available at the NRC. At the same time, he was President of Canadian Patents and Development, which was associated with the NRC. In 1976 he rejoined DHC as Vice-President of Engineering, until his retirement in 1979. During that period he was involved with the development of the Dash 7 and Dash 8 aircraft.

During his career, Hiscocks delivered lectures on aeronautical subjects at the University of Toronto and its Institute for Aerospace Studies. Following retirement and a move to Vancouver, British Columbia, he was appointed adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia where he resumed his aeronautical lectures. He applied for and received appointment as a Design Approval Representative for Transport Canada, empowering him to approve various aspects of aircraft design or design changes. He acted as a consultant to several Canadian and American companies.

Between 1990 and 1995 he was involved with Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Ltd. of Chilliwack, British Columbia, working on aerodynamic design and stress analysis for a high-wing, bush-type aircraft, the Rebel, and a larger, four-seat high-wing aircraft, the Super Rebel, for the homebuilder's market.

In 1954 Hiscocks was the first-ever recipient of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute's McCurdy Award. He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees by McMaster, McGill and Carleton Universities. Hiscocks took an active part in the development of his profession outside the design office as is shown by his years of work with the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute where he was president in 1964-65.

Dick Hiscocks published nearly fifty papers on aircraft design, airworthiness, engineering education, and industrial research. In 1995 he published "Design of Light Aircraft", which is in widespread use by students and engineers across Canada. He contributed two stories, "The Ubiquitous Beaver" and "Whither STOL", both of which are published in "De Havilland, You STOL My Heart Away".

He died in Vancouver, British Columbia, on December 13, 1996.

Richard Duncan (Dick) Hiscocks was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1998 at a ceremony held in Montreal, Quebec.