He is the inventor and patent holder for the cryogenically cooled nose
used on the X-15 -- the aircraft which helped launch the U.S. space
program. The nose design is still used today on the space shuttle.
Though acknowledged by the Government, Lebel was never paid a cent for
his contribution. The nation's top aeronautic scientists were loathe to
admit a problem that baffled them was solved by an opera singer!