Horace Charles Luttman

Charles Luttman, B.A., M.A., was born on May 30, 1908 in Banbury, England. He was educated at Marlborough College and graduated from Cambridge University in 1930 with a B.A. degree in Mechanical Science with an option in Aerodynamics.

He obtained a position with the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate of the British Ministry of Supply. He was posted to Vickers Aircraft Limited as Examiner, and then to Fairey Aviation Limited as Assistant Inspector.

He married Jean Morrison in 1934 at Oxford and they had one daughter, Rachel Mary. His family joined him later in 1938 when he was sent to North American Aviation in California to oversee the production of the Harvard Trainer for the Royal Air Force. While there, Luttman influenced the design of a new fighter aircraft, the Mustang. Toward the end of his stay there, the British Government ordered 400 Mustang fighters even though the aircraft was only at the conceptual stage.

He was transferred in 1940 to the Headquarters of the newly formed British Air Commission in Washington DC. He was appointed Assistant Chief Inspector, Aircraft, and supervisor of BAC inspectors stationed at the many US aircraft plants producing planes destined for the Royal Air Force.

He returned to England in late 1945. However, he did not find his work with the British Ministry of Supply very challenging. He had received his M.A. in Mechanical Sciences from Cambridge in 1947, and that same year decided to emigrate to Canada. He soon found employment with A.V. Roe (Canada) Ltd., first as Patents Officer and later as Contracts Administrator.

Shortly after arriving in Canada, he joined the Toronto Branch of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences (IAS) of which he had been a member since his earlier years in the USA. In May of 1949, the Toronto group proposed the formation of an aeronautical section of the Engineering Institute of Canada.

Early in 1952, Luttman and lan Hamer, co-chairmen of the Toronto IAS Branch, were elected to a sub-committee charged with soliciting ideas from IAS and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) personnel in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. A Steering Committee was formed to explore the desirability of a Canadian organization, which Luttman championed. He contributed significantly to deliberations as well as to preparation of the survey questionnaire and to drafting the constitutional by-laws.

After the incorporation as the Canadian Aeronautical Institute (CAI) in 1954, the Steering Committee served as an Interim Council until elections were held. When the Councilors took office, one of their first tasks was to fill the post of Secretary. When Luttman applied for the position there was no hesitation to appoint him since his deep commitment to the Institute was well known.

One of Luttman's early assignments was to establish new Branches in other centres of aeronautical activity. When the Council decided that members with specific interests would be better served through Sections related to those interests, he again put his persuasive talents to use. When test pilots in Canada were considering the formation of their own society, he convinced them to form a Test Pilots Section of the Institute instead. Other Sections followed, but the one which had the greatest impact was the Astronautics Section formed in 1958. It attracted the attention of Philip Lapp, the President of the Canadian Astronautical Society, who suggested a merger with the Institute.

The merger took place in 1961 and this resulted in a substantial increase in members, affiliation with the International Astronautical Federation and adoption of the name Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI). Then, when the decision was made to attract students to the Institute, Luttman canvassed universities and colleges across Canada and soon a Student Section was established in every Branch location. These Sections enabled the Institute to assist in the professional development of thousands of Canadian technicians and engineers.

Although his job title was Secretary, he also performed the functions of Treasurer and Editor of the Institute's publications. In addition, he played a leading role in planning, organizing and running the Annual Meetings.

The preparations for the 1959 Annual Meeting to be held in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, brought a surprise to Luttman. While scouting for a place to erect the proposed CASI memorial commemorating the 1909 flight of the Silver Dart, he learned that a certain Lilo Muller was visiting the Bell home there. In his youth, he had studied French in Switzerland and became friendly with a young man by that name. Luttman now sought him out and learned that Muller had married a granddaughter of Alexander Graham Bell, and was an artist. Muller agreed to submit a design for the memorial, "which was approved by the CASI Council." The memorial was unveiled on the lawn of the Bell Museum in the presence of J.A.D. McCurdy.

Luttman maintained close and friendly contact with his peers at the various Institutes and Societies. This led to an invitation for CASI to participate in the Anglo-American Conferences from 1963 onward. The Institute also participated in joint meetings and student joint conferences. Luttman ensured that Canadians presented papers at all of these conferences.

Luttman's professionalism was recognized in 1972 when he was awarded membership in Sigma Gamma Tau, which is the US National Honor Society in Aerospace Engineering whose purpose is to recognize "distinguished scholarship or eminent professional attainment in Aerospace Engineering". He was also awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1976 for his accomplishments. He was named Fellow of CASI and the Royal Aeronautical Society, and Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Although attempts were made to nominate him for several CASI awards, he declined them because he believed that it was not appropriate for an organization to bestow awards on a member or a past-member of its salaried staff. In 1981 a number of Past-Presidents wished to nominate him for an Honorary Fellowship, which he again declined. However, he was pleased to allow his name to be associated with a scholarship award because he regarded it as being essentially a recognition for student achievement rather than for anything he may have done for the Institute.

Luttman was the first Secretary of CASI, but he was called 'the heart and soul', and 'the mind and hands' of the Institute. He shunned the 'forty-hour week' and often brought his work home. Not only was he dedicated and enthusiastic, but he was also thorough and meticulous. His management of the affairs of the Institute earned him the respect and esteem of the nineteen Presidents and Councillors he served. His experience, expertise and reliability of judgment were essential to each succeeding President.

He built the foundation of the Institute on his belief in the importance of sharing technical achievement, commitment to professional ethics and instinct for natural fellowship. That is the legacy for which he will be remembered.

Although Charles Luttman became a Canadian citizen in 1955, when he retired in 1973, he and his wife moved back to England. He demonstrated his "Canadian Pride" by decorating his lawn on his retirement property with a thirty-foot roundel of gravel with a maple leaf carved in the centre.

He died at Seal Chart, England on April 17, 2001.

Charles Luttman was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame at induction ceremonies in Wetaskiwin, Alberta on May 30, 2009.