Frank Robinson was born in Carbonado, Washington in 1930. The youngest of four children, he grew up during the Depression. At the age of nine, Frank saw a picture in the Seattle Post Intelligencer of Igor Sikorsky hovering his VS300 Prototype helicopter. The idea that a machine could remain stationary in the air fascinated Frank and set the course for his life's work. As a young man, he worked his way through college focusing his education on helicopter design. In 1957, he earned a BSME degree from the University of Washington and later attended graduate school at the University of Wichita. Robinson began his career in 1957 at the Cessna Aircraft Company working on the CH-1 Skyhook helicopter, which is still in use today. After 3 1/2 years at Cessna, he spent one year at Umbaugh working on the certification of its gyroplane, which is a combination of an airplane and a helicopter. Mr. Robinson then spent 4 1/2 years at McCulloch Motor Company doing design studies on inexpensive helicopters. Robinson went on to spend a year at Kaman Aircraft working on gyrodyne-type rotorcraft, followed by two years at Bell Helicopter where he earned a reputation as a tail rotor expert.
             Unable to interest any of his employers in his idea for a small, low-cost helicopter, Robinson resigned from Hughes and in June of 1973 founded Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC) in his California home. The first R22 prototype was built in a tin hangar at the nearby Torrance Airport, and in August of 1975, Robinson flew the R22 on its first flight. In 1979, after 3 1/2 years of testing and technical analysis, the R22 received its FAA Type Certificate. The first R22 was delivered in late 1979 and soon became the world's top-selling civil helicopter. The R22 holds the most world records in its weight class including speed and altitude. In the mid-1980s, Robinson began to develop the four-seat R44 helicopter, which took its first flight in March of 1990. FAA certi...