Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America

At the time of his death, Unger was head of the entire rotorcraft research program at NASA.  He had direct responsibility for the AHS/NASA Rotorcraft Noise Reduction Program, which earned the AHS Howard Hughes Award in 1989.  He also worked with the Federal Aviation Administration in spearheading studies of the potential civil applications of tilt rotor technology.

Unger was born in Buffalo.  He received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, and a masters from M.I.T. Unger came to Washington in 1968, working first at Naval Air Systems Command, where he concentrated on various Navy and Marine Corps helicopter designs. He was responsible for studies that resulted in the JVX program and the V-22.  He brought the Navy into the NASA program for XV-15 operational trials in 1979.

An AHS member since 1970, Unger made presentations at AHS meetings and published articles in 'Vertiflite' and other publications advancing the cause of vertical flight research.  He served as Chairman of the Aerodynamics Committee, and worked on the Civil Rotorcraft Initiative program. George R. Unger, a NASA employee since 1980, died in Washington, D.C. on August 11, 1992.  He was 46.

AHS Update: Vertiflite September/October 1992