Tuesday, February 24, 2009; Washington Post Obituary BERNARD H. CARSON 75 Professor Taught Generations of Naval Aviators Bernard H. Carson, 75, a former professor of aerospace engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, died of renal failure Feb. 15 at BayWoods of Annapolis assisted living center. Dr. Carson taught at the Naval Academy for 31 years, educating generations of naval aviators. He was instrumental in building laboratories to support his students and their research, and was often found testing wing sections and propellers in the wind tunnels there. With several colleagues, he procured for the midshipmen a small plane that served as a flying laboratory. Dr. Carson’s best-known research explained a formula for the speed at which an aircraft can maximize speed and minimize fuel consumption. Now known as the “Carson Speed,” the benchmark has been used to evaluate a wide variety of aircraft and is useful in the design of fuel-efficient aircraft. The formula is also the basis for an annual competition. Bernard Hemphill Carson was born in Strattanville, Pa., and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1955. He joined the Air Force and flew around the world as a copilot of the C-124 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft. He returned to Penn State, where he received a master’s degree in the early 1960s and a doctorate in 1965 in aeronautical engineering. After a year-long postdoctoral fellowship, he was appointed to the Naval Academy faculty in 1966. He spent two years in England, serving as the Office of Naval Research’s technical liaison to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and studying lighter-than-air vehicles. He later developed prototypes of heavy-lift vehicles for use in military and industrial applications. He received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award upon his retirement in 1997. Dr. Carson built model airplanes and had a private pilot’s license. His wife of 49 years, Shirley VanSant Carson, died in 2006. Survivors include two children, Scott Carson of Crofton and Anne Carson of Annapolis; two brothers; and two grandchildren.– Patricia Sullivan

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Shirley Carson at Galeville with Bud’s Korda.	Bud tried all kind of Coconuts — here with a Dormoy BathTub
Bud enjoying a win at COMSAT with Allan.	Bud with his ‘Fike’ Coconut.
Bud at the Navy Hangar at Andrews.
Bud tried all kind of rubber powered models here with a ‘Flapper’ for propulsion .