Born – February 22, 1923, Den Haag, The Netherlands
Died – March 29, 1999, Austin, Texas, U. S. A.
Education
1948 Ir degree (Masters of Science equivalent), Aeronautical Engineering, cum laude, Delft Univ., Holland
Employment
1948-1950 – Helicopter Flight Test Engineer, National Aeronautics Laboratory
1950-1952 – Officer (Member, of Certification Team for New Aircraft), Royal Dutch Navy
1953-1959 – Kolibrie Ramjet Helicopter design team Chief Designer and Technical Manager, Netherlands Helicopter Industrie (NIH), Netherlands
1959-198?? – Aeronautical engineer, Bell Helicopter Textron, Hurst, TX
1976-1979 – Director of Technology, Bell Helicopter Textron, Hurst, TX
19??-1986 – Vice President, Technology, Bell Helicopter Textron, Hurst, TX
Awards
1949 – Cieerva Memorial Prize
1964 – Diplome Paul Tissander of the Federation Aeronautique International
1973 – American Helicopter Society’s Grover E. Bell Award (“for development of the nodalized-beam concept for reducing helicopter vibration”)
1978 – Honorary Fellowship, American Helicopter Society
1982 – Von Baumhauer Award
1982 – Distinguished Professional Service to Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, The College of Engineering
1982 – Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts
1986 – Congressional Advisory Committee of Aeronautics, U. S. Congress
1986 – Bell Helicopter, Inc. honors Jan Meijer Drees in recognition of forty years devotion to rotary wing technology and in appreciation of twenty-eight years of dedicated service to the company, December 1986.
1987 – Alexander A. Nikolsky Honor Lectureship, American Helicopter Society
1996 – For service as American Helicopter Society’s Human Powered Helicopter Coordinator
Professional Societies
Chairman, Dynamics Committee, Vice President of the Southern Region, Director, Technical Director, and Technical Council member for the American Helicopter Society
Journal articles
Drees, J. M. 1976. Blade twist, droop snoot, and forward spars. Vertiflight 22(5), pages 4-9
Drees, J. M. 1984. Speculations about the origin of sails for horizontal axis windmills. Wind Technology Journal 3(1 and 2), pages13-30.
Drees, J. M. 1987. Prepare for the 21st Century – The 1987 Alexander A. Nikolsky Lecture. Journal of the American Helicopter Society 32(3), pages 3-14.
Drees, J. M. 1988. Expanding tilt rotor capabilities. Vertica 12(½), pages 55-67.
Drees, J. M. 1995. Human-powered helicopter competition heats up! Vertiflite March/April, pages 32-34
Proceedings Articles (published over 30 technical papers over his career)
Drees, J. M. 1979. One thousand years of rotating wings. Fifth European Rotocraft and Powered Lift Aircraft Forum. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pages 1-10.
Bell noda-magic ride (Helicopter vibration isolation, 1974 patent)
Anon. 1972.Rotor-induced vibrations reduced. Aviation Week and Space Technology, pages 48-51
Anon. 1972. No-vibration ‘copter developed. Mid-cities Daily News, p.9.
Patents
Sept. 3, 1963 – Patent number 3,102,597, Method of second harmonic control, J. M. Drees
July 6, 1965 – Patent number 3,193,019, Rotor system, J. M. Drees et al.
Oct. 25, 1966 – Patent number 3,280,918, Rotor construction, J. M. Drees et al.
May 2, 1967 – Patent number 3,316,976, Rotor blade, C. E. Covington et al.
July 16, 1968 – Patent number 3,392,788, Rotor blade, C. E. Covington et al.
April 1, 1969 – Patent number 3,436,040, Autorotative recovery system, J. M. Drees
Nov. 5, 1974 – Patent number 3,845,917, Helicopter vibration isolation, J. M. Drees
Sept. 19, 1978 – Patent number 4,115,031, Hub spring moment isolation in underslung two-bladed teetering rotor, J. M. Drees et al.
Service
1966 – Scout Master, Troop 575, Dallas, TX
1999 – President, Vista Grande Homeowners’ Association