Avionics News April 2018 - 45

who grew up in the 1980s, I watched
Top Gun and fell in love with aviation,
or more specifically, jets. As I got
older, that turned into a generic
fondness for all of aviation, and
Robinson fills that niche nicely. Every
day I get to come to work and design
new electrical assemblies and then
flight test them on our helicopters.
The other thing that makes this job
great is working with a close-knit
group of individuals.

Frank Robinson is such
an icon. Did you work
with him?

Frank still comes by from time
to time, but he officially retired
in October 2010 and handed the
reins to Kurt Robinson, his oldest
son. Frank retired right after we
certificated the R66. As an engineer,
Frank is phenomenal. I worked seven
years with him. As a new engineer, he
would come in and check to see what
we were working on. He is a very
strong-minded engineer. He passed
on a wealth of knowledge to me,
helped us work out problems, and
told us what he thought we needed
to do.

What's the corporate
culture like at Robinson?
It's an engineering company, but
I'm maybe 30 steps from Kurt's door.
As president, he is always here. He'll
make rounds and stop by at least
once a week as well as to the other
engineers. Peter Riedl is the chief
engineer, and I talk to him on a daily

basis. Our design engineer team is
about 10 engineers. Both Kurt and
Pete are hands-on. They give us some
specifics of what they want, and we'll
start laying it out. We do a check-in
over stages - at 25 percent finished, at
50 percent, and so on until it goes to
flight test.

You said you flight test.
Are you a pilot?

I joke that I chose the path of
marriage and a child. When you have
worked at Robinson for five years,
the company has a discounted flying
program. There is always a backlog of
names, so when my name came up,
I had a child and had to slow down.
But maybe when my daughter is a
teenager, I'll do it. In the meantime, I
enjoy my work.

How did you meet
your wife?

I met Chie doing martial arts, and
we were both students. I've been
doing martial arts since I was 13 years
old. When I moved here, I didn't know
anyone. I found a taekwondo studio
where there were a lot of adults. We
started a little social group where we'd
all go out to dinner and hang out.
After about a year of that, we started
dating and got married.

You mentioned you
have a daughter.

Yes, my wife and I have a daughter,
Natalie, who is 8. She is into tons of
toys and loves riding her bike. Chie
is homeschooling her through the

California Virtual Academy. It's a Los
Angeles public school, but taught
virtually. Natalie is also doing karate
now, along with me.

Any other hobbies or
interests?

My daughter and I play video
games on the weekend. She's not
allowed to play during the week. It
helps having a father who is big into
electronics, so she's been playing from
an early age.

Any relation to the
poet Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow?

According to my grandfather who
looked into our family tree, yes, I am
related. The poet had no sons, so
Henry Wadsworth is an uncle to me,
along with a bunch of "greats" in front
of it. And I've never met any other
Longfellows either.

What does your crystal
ball show for your future?

I expect to stay here at Robinson,
and I see a future for myself here. My
wife's entire family is local and we
love it here. My wife and daughter
can come visit me and stop in and
have lunch with me. Natalie will sit in
the helicopter, and she is developing
an interest in engineering. Robinson
is perfect for a family-oriented
engineer. q

To learn more about Robinson Helicopter
Company, visit robinsonheli.com.
avionics news

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april

2018

45
http://www.robinsonheli.com
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