De Elroy Beeler became the Acting Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Flight Research Center on April 27, 1971, with the official appointment being made on May 31, 1971. He retained this position until October 11, 1971, when Lee Scherer became director of the Center that was renamed in honor of Hugh L. Dryden in 1976. De was one of the original small group of engineers and technicians who arrived at the Muroc Army Air Field between September and December of 1946. These people worked under the direction of Walter C. Williams to perform flight research on the Bell XS-1 aircraft. De became the engineer in charge of the aircraft loads program. Beeler soon became responsible for the research planning, design and flight investigations of advanced research aircraft projects. Through time, his title changed many times from engineer in charge of loads research for the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit in 1947 to Deputy Director for the NASA Flight Research Center in 1974, when he retired. During this period there was a growing number of research programs, the employees grew in numbers, and changes in the facility name occurred, all creating more responsibility for De. He also held the title of Chief of Research until the mid 1960s. Beeler received a Bachelor of Science Degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, in 1941. After graduation he was employed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation of Paterson, New Jersey. In 1941 De joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, Virginia, where he was project engineer on the North American XP-51 Mustang and specialized in high-speed flight research. Beeler was the author of many technical reports and papers. He also gave presentations throughout the world. He is an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and he has been a member of a technical committee on the lunar landing program of Project Apollo , the NASA Supersonic Transport Committee and the Research Advisory Committee on Aircraft Aerodynamics. He was awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.
