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The Evolving Mind |
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Glyn A.J. Bindon was born and raised in South Africa and immigrated to the United States in the 1950’s. In 1958 Glyn graduated from Parks Air College earning a degree in aeronautical engineering, and shortly after received his first job as an engineer with a company in New York. A significant assignment early on demonstrated Glyn’s engineering prowess involving a problem with the Navy’s F-8U Crusader. Rejected for carrier operations because of safety and mechanical problems with the tailhook operation, Glyn designed a powerful shock absorber that satisfied the stress in carrier landings. Another noteworthy assignment in the same position included improvements to underground nuclear missile suspension systems to further protect the missiles from enemy attack. |
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The decade of the 1960’s saw a great rush to space and the goal of putting man on the moon. This effort coordinated hundreds of sub-contractors, including Grumman Aerospace where Glyn Bindon was hired as Cognizant Engineer. Working closely with NASA engineers, Glyn’s participation influenced the quadruple redundant engine control design of the Lunar Lander descent and ascent engines. A personal satisfaction came when seeing the extent of ability in the Lunar Lander engines performance, going beyond their design specifications to power the command module out of the moon’s orbit after the failure of the command module engine on the Apollo 13 mission. Eventually the space race slowed and Glyn relocated to Michigan to work with the Ford Motor Company. As a Ford product design engineer, Glyn was involved in operating problems Navistar was having with the unit injectors in the new diesel engine series. His basic knowledge of fluid dynamics proved a convenient background for analyzing and recommending the appropriate solutions. |
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Old Sights Bring New Ones |
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In 1980 while still with Ford Motor Company, Glyn Bindon took time to visit South Africa where he met an old friend who showed him a luminous gunsight he developed and hoped to sell. Glyn brought several samples back home and eventually sold two. Soon after another 6 sights quickly sold, so Glyn ordered 12 more units and started a side business out of his home, setting up office in the family room. The unique feature of these gunsights is the luminosity of the aiming dots inside the iron gunsights. The nature of the glow comes from light created by a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen called Tritium. Because Tritium gas is a self contained power source, no batteries or other power sources are needed. However, the cold war was still on and the nature of Tritium as a radio-active material required Glyn to seek the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He eventually received an NRC license to use Tritium, formed the company Trijicon, and in 1983 became the first Tritium-illuminated gunsight manufacturer to legally sell to the general public. |
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Fulfilling the Public Need |
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Trijicon as a company experienced opportunity in the mid-eighties, when the FBI in the course of a raid in Florida, engaged in a gun battle with drug dealers who were armed with superior weapons. Consequently the FBI provided agents with advanced weaponry, including automatic pistols with Trijicon’s Tritium gunsights. Overnight Glyn’s family room business started to grow rapidly. In 1993 Trijicon moved into the current building in Wixom, Michigan. |
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