Child Prodigy in Designing Car and Rocket Engines - David Adair Interview 1

David Adair’s father was a successful car mechanic associated with the establishment of NASCAR racing in the early 1950s, which later exposed the young Adair to the world of high-powered engines and car racing. Adair had a knack for developing innovative designs and solutions for the engines his father worked on. Due to his status as a minor, Adair was not allowed to be financially compensated for his innovative car engine work, but instead asked for and was given access to the well-equipped NASCAR workshops where high-powered engines were built. Thus, Adair began building engines for model rockets he was designing. Adair went on to win multiple science awards for his rockets, which were published in local and regional newspapers in Ohio. This led to him meeting with the physicist Stephen Hawking and, more importantly, a four-star general, Curtis LeMay, who had recently retired as Air Force Chief of Staff (1961-1965). LeMay first met Adair’s mother, who worked as a nurse at Mount Vernon’s Memorial Hosp