Richard V. DeLeo

 

(1922 - ) DeLeo is a world renowned aeronautical engineer and long-time vice president of Rosemount, Inc. He is the sole or co-inventor of sixteen United States patents relating to air data measurement, and is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in accurate altitude and velocity measurements for high speed aircraft. As an airplane flies through the air, it is very important to have accurate information about its airspeed and direction of motion. The mere presence of an aircraft going through air causes a disturbance ahead of and around the aircraft which makes it difficult to obtain accurate measurements close to the aircraft. This effect is more pronounced as aircraft speeds increase. DeLeo applied his basic aerodynamic engineering skills plus creativity to the problem and invented a new pressure pick-up tube mounted on the outside of the aircraft which measures aircraft speed, air flow and altitude while compensating for air motion disturbance at the tube location. He has authored or co-authored many papers in the field of air data measurement. In addition to his technical leadership, DeLeo has been a mentor to several generations of engineers.