Helicopter Pioneer Frank Robinson Passes

November 14, 2022

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TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On November 12, 2022 Robinson Helicopter Company bid a ultimate farewell to its founder, Frank Robinson. Robinson, 92, handed away peacefully at his Rolling Hills, California residence.

One of essentially the most recognizable names within the helicopter business, Frank Robinson was a pioneer, a person not pushed by reward or accolades however by a imaginative and prescient that redefined the business and without end modified common aviation.

Robinson shall be remembered for the design and manufacture of the R22, R44, and R66 mannequin helicopters. Known for his or her simplicity and reliability, the favored helicopters have a definite profile and may be noticed simply and often all around the world.

Robinson’s fascination with helicopters started in 1939, at age 9, when he noticed an image within the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of Igor Sikorsky hovering his VS-300 helicopter, a picture that captivated Robinson and set the course for his life’s work.

He earned a BSME diploma from the University of Washington, later attending Wichita State University’s graduate aeronautical engineering college. His profession started within the late ’50s with Cessna and continued by means of the ’60s working for a lot of main aerospace firms, together with Bell and Hughes. In 1973, at age forty-three, unable to curiosity any of his employers within the concept for a easy, private helicopter, he resigned from his job at Hughes and based Robinson Helicopter Company in his Palos Verdes, California residence. Six years later, defying critics and overcoming monumental obstacles, Robinson was granted FAA certification for his two-place, piston powered R22 helicopter. The unknown helicopter firm delivered its first manufacturing R22 in October 1979. By 1989, the R22 had gained a foothold on the whole aviation, opening a beforehand untapped marketplace for non-public helicopter possession.

In the early ’90s, realizing the potential for a light-weight mid-size helicopter, Robinson launched the four-place piston powered R44. Orders for the R44 shortly piled-up and the corporate turned a acknowledged participant within the aviation business. In 2010, Robinson as soon as once more expanded his line with the five-place, turbine powered R66.

Robinson’s relentless dedication earned him the respect of each colleagues and rivals. Affectionately referred to as a rock star in sure aviation circles, Robinson retired in 2010 at age 80.

The checklist of awards and honors bestowed on Robinson is lengthy. Most notable:

2013				Daniel Guggenheim Medal – AHS International
2011				Lifetime Aviation Engineering Award – Living Legends of Aviation
2010				Cierve Lecturer – Royal Aeronautical Society
2011				Inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
2004				Howard Hughes Memorial Award – So. California Aeronautic Association
2000				Named Laurels Hall of Fame Legend – Aviation Week & Space Technology
1997				The Doolittle Award – Society of Experimental Test Pilots
1992				Laurels Award – Aviation Week & Space Technology
1991 & 1990				Igor I. Sikorsky International Trophy – American Helicopter Society

Today, the corporate continues underneath the management of Frank’s son, Kurt Robinson and, up to now, has delivered over 13,000 helicopters worldwide.