Robinson Helicopter founder retires
The man who made certified helicopters reasonably affordable is retiring, although a little later than he intended. Frank Robinson, whose piston-powered R22 and R44 helicopters are the best sellers in their class worldwide, had hoped to retire on his 80th birthday last January. Instead, he turned the company’s direction over to his son Kurt on Aug. 10. “I felt I needed to keep myself available to handle a lot of management concerns,” he told the Los Angeles Times. He also wanted to see the completion of the R66 turbine-powered model.
The Robinson story is one of those increasingly rare tales of a bootstraps entrepreneur who ends up being a world leader in his field. Robinson was an engineer working for other helicopter companies when, in 1973, he saw the need for a safe, reliable and affordable light helicopter. The two-place R22, whose prototype was built in Robinson’s garage, is the best-selling helicopter in the world and a mainstay of the training industry. The four-place R44 is not far behind and is an increasing popular news-gathering and law-enforcement platform. It was not an easy journey and Robinson is the first to admit the company was on the brink of failure in the early years. “We tend to refer to all those years as the dark years,” Robinson said. “It was touch and go whether the company could survive.”
Impact of Bemidji Regional Airport exceeds $27 million
The total economic impact of Bemidji Regional Airport for 2009 is $27.88 million, according to a University of Minnesota study.
The activity also led to 446 jobs county-wide for the year, the study said.
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“Economic impact is not revenue or profit, it is a measure of the change or additional money and jobs that have been created as a result of the current economic activity taking place at the airport,” the study noted.
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Rescued Helldiver headed to U.S. Navy
Drivers in the southern states may see, in the next few days, a flatbed truck carrying the wreckage of a Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver. It was recovered from the bottom of Lower Otay Reservoir in San Diego County, Calif., and is headed for the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.
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New Mayor, New Meigs?
Seven years ago Mayor Daley bulldozed the runway at Meigs Field without notifying the FAA and stranding several aircraft until they received permission to leave via the taxiway. The FAA find the City of Chicago $33,000 for failure-to-notify, which I think was the maximum allowed. They also fined the city $1 million for illegally diverting funds from O’Hare and Midway airports to carry out the clandestine operation. As an operating airport, Meigs Field generated $57 million a year in economic activity.
AOPA suggest having the airport and the park, and cites two examples where this was done.
The Colomban Cri-Cri is the world’s smallest, manned, twin-engine airplane.
Now there’s an electric one !
The all electric Cri-Cri (French for cricket), jointly developed by EADS Innovation Works, Aero Composites Saintonge, and the Green Cri-Cri Association, has flown at Le Bourget airport near Paris. It is claimed to be the first four-motor all-electric aerobatic airplane.
How cool is that?
Personally, I’d feel silly flying a Cri-Cri – no matter what powers it. It looks like a clown plane. Of course, if someone gave me one…
Of course I’d fly it!