Beverley Shenstone
| Beverley Strahan Shenstone | |
|---|---|
| Born |
10 June 1906 Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
| Died | 9 November 1979 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Aerodynamics |
| Projects | Vickers Supermarine Spitfire |
Beverley Strahan Shenstone MASc, HonFRAes, FAIAA, AFIAS, FCAISI, HonOSTIV (10 June 1906 to 9 November 1979) was a Canadian aerodynamicist often credited with developing the aerodynamics of the Supermarine Spitfire's elliptical wing. In his later career he established the technical foundation of British commercial airline industry and promoted human powered flight.
Beverley Strahan Shenstone was born on 10 June 1906 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. He was the eldest child of Saxon T. Shenstone and Kitty Alison née Paterson, and the nephew of Allen Shenstone. His father died on Christmas Day 1915, leaving Beverley and his two younger brothers to be brought up by Kitty and their paternal grandfather, Joseph Newton Shenstone. The young Shenstone was taught by his uncles to sail. He designed, built and raced model yachts. As an undergraduate in 1927 he undertook a canoeing expedition throughout the waterways of South and South West England. At the end of this tour, he worked for few weeks in an Air Ministry laboratory located in the basement of the London Science Museum. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1928 with a degree in Engineering, which was followed by master's degree research into flying boat stability supervised by Professor John H. Parkin. In June 1929 he learned to fly under an RCAF cadetship, going solo in under 10 hours which earned him a permanent RCAF commission. In an era when most aircraft were still fabric covered wooden biplanes, Shenstone realised that metal monoplanes were the future and that German industry was leading that field. He applied for a job with Dornier in Friedrichshafenbut was unsuccessful. Perseverance and useful contacts paid off, with the assistance of Parkin and Captain M.C. Christie (the British Air Attache in Berlin) he got a position with Junkers in November 1929 at Dessau.
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