Ag-3, predecessor to the Piper PA-25 Pawnee series. The same basic configuration and design concepts pioneered in the Ag-1 can be seen in more modern crop dusters including the Air Tractor AT-802. In a 1979 interview about general aviation's future past the year 2000, Weick accurately envisioned the continued interest in sport aviation and the practical use of aircraft for medium-range transportation. He mentioned that he had seen gas turbines demonstrated as early as 1922, and that their future use in light aircraft would only be viable with development of cost-efficient materials that could withstand the heat. He felt future aircraft would not be radically different, but could benefit from safety improvements in controllability. He joined Piper Aircraft in 1957 as director and chief engineer of its development center, remaining there until his retirement at age 70. In addition to the Pawnee, Weick co-designed Piper's Cherokee line of personal and business light aircraft. Weick remained active in general aviation, regularly attending the Experimental Aircraft Association Oshkosh airshow for entertainment and lectures. He married Dorothy Church (1900–1991) and they had three children together. Weick died on Thursday, July 8, 1993, in Vero Beach, Florida. In 2002, Fred E. Weick was honored by the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society, when he was inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame for his contributions to aviation and aviation safety. Gallery See also Max B. Harlow Otto C. Koppen References Sources "Fred Weick" US Centennial of Flight Commission, retrieved January 12, 2006 "FRED E. WEICK AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TRANSCRIPTS", NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE ARCHIVES, Accession XXXX-0425 "interview I had with Fred Weick" Coupe landings and landing gears, September 1991 Coupe Capers: Ed Burkhead External links "Flivver Plane Without Tail Almost Flies Itself" Popular Mechanics, November 1935 1899 births 1993 deaths Aircraft designers American aerospace engineers Aviators from Illinois Collier Trophy recipients People from Berwyn, Illinois Texas A&M University faculty University of Illinois alumni United States airmail pilots Piper Aircraft, Inc. Engineers from Illinois 20th-century American engineers Aviation inventors 1929 in aviation American inventors Aviation history of the United States Aviation pioneers