Parsons Corporation Air Force Contract

The U.S. Air Force awarded Parsons Corporation a contract to develop a faster method for producing helicopter rotor blades and complex aircraft wing sections. This contract initiated the formal research into what would become numerical control.

Significance

This contract was the official genesis of numerical control, funding the initial conceptual work by John Parsons and Frank Stulen that would eventually lead to the development of CAM.

Key facts

Date
1948-06-01
Type
milestone
Location
Traverse City, Michigan, USA