William Moog Jr.; Inventor of Servovalve for Missiles

William Moog Jr., 82, inventor of the servovalve that assisted missile flight controls. Moog, who held 11 patents, invented the lightweight valve in 1951 while working at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. The lightweight, high-pressure device capable of withstanding the rugged conditions faced by missiles replaced the heavy valves then in production. His invention was the start of the Moog industrial empire, which now has 4,000 employees in facilities in 20 countries. On Friday in East Aurora, N.Y.