The Robert L. Pinckney Award is given for a notable achievement in manufacturing research and development for vertical flight aircraft or components brought to fruition in the preceding year. The Award was created by Boeing in 1995 to honor the memory of Robert L. Pinckney, an eminent manufacturing engineer.
Read more about Robert L. Pinckney at Vertipedia.
2023
- Data Collection Electronic Logging System (DCELS) Deployment Team
- The Boeing Company
The team successfully developed and implemented DCELS software to connect an advanced torque tool, measurement system and other hand tools directly to a records keeping system. The streamlined process facilitated significant time savings and the removal of a second inspector, saving the Apache program nearly $700,000 annually.
2022
- The 3D Printed Aircraft Parts Team
- Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company
he team successfully developed and implemented 3D printed parts on H-60 production aircraft, as well as the company’s Raider X competitive prototype.
2021
- Raider X Main Rotor Blade (MRB) Spar Team
- Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company
This year’s award is given to Sikorsky’s Raider X Main Rotor Blade (MRB) Spar Team, Eric Dunn and Keith Schenone, who developed novel tooling strategies, leveraging additive manufacturing and the digital thread, to rapidly implement robust manufacturing methods for a complex high-performance rigid main rotor blade spar to meet the demands of US Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.
2020
- Assembly and Flight Operations (AFO) Laser Ablation Team
- Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company
The team led the first successful implementation of a Class 4 Laser system for use in a production facility on military aircraft. Over the last four years, is has proven a 95% reduction in labor when compared to traditional paint removal methods.
2019
- FARDS Demonstration Gear Box Development Team
- US Army ADD and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company
This year’s recipient was the Future Advanced Rotorcraft Drive System (FARDS) Demonstration Gear Box Development Team. The team demonstrated the ability to develop drive system technologies with the performance and cost characteristics necessary to enable the Army’s Future Vertical Lift and Black Hawk Upgrade platforms.
This was accomplished through the development of new technologies, including drive system materials, processes, and modeling and simulation tools. These have been incorporated into a technology demonstrator main gearbox undergoing testing. The FARDS objectives are measured relative to the improvements over the UH-60L drive system for increased power density, reduced noise level, reduced production cost, reduced operation and sustainment cost, and automatic detection of critical failures.
Jason Fetty (left) and Treven Baker (right) of the US Army Aviation Development Directorate and Steven Behnfeldt (middle) of Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, accepted this year’s award.
2018
- CH-53K Drive System Development Team
- US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)/Sikorsky
The team developed the largest helicopter main gearbox in the Western world.
The CH-53K Split Torque Gearbox has been brought to fruition, through successful flight demonstration and customer operational assessment of heavy lift helicopter with an unprecedented vertical heavy lift capability for the US Marines.
2017
- Advanced Blade Erosion Program Team
- Bell Helicopter Textron; The Boeing Company; Hayden Corporation; US Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR)
For its RotorShield flame spray coating which doubles erosion performance on the V‑22 Osprey.
2016
- V-280 Wing Development Team
- Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin
From innovative product design to next generation composite materials and fabrication processes, the V-280 wing design results in greater than 50% nonrecurring savings and 57% recurring savings over legacy tiltrotor wings with a raw material utilization improvement of 25%
2015
- S-97 Raider Helicopter Fuselage Development Team
- Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
For demonstrating the viability of designing, tooling, manufacturing and assembling a rotorcraft fuselage that is 70% composite (by weight) in a rapid prototyping environment
2014
- H-1 Pourable Foam Stiffened Structure (PFSS) Team
- Bell Helicopter and US Navy (NAVAIR)
For the development of a unique elevator design utilizing carbon/epoxy skin laminates and urethane foam core.
2013
- V-22 Large Cell Composite Core Flaperon Team
- Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopter Co.
For its focus on cost-reduction initiatives, reliability and maintainability
2012
- CH-53K Virtual Design Team
- NAVAIR and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
For its use of virtual design tools to improve design and manufacturing efficiencies. The team successfully implemented and used the system to vastly reduce design and manufacturing costs during preliminary and critical design phases
2011
- No Award Presented
2010
- The PROMETAL RCT/Sikorsky Digital Casting Team
- PROMETAL RCT and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
For developing and producing defect-free magnesium sand castings from
digital molds with a 50 percent reduction in lead time.
PROMETAL RCT, with funding provided by Sikorsky Aircraft, successfully developed a process to produce sand casting molds directly from digital data on automated machinery.
2009
- RDS-21 (Face Gear) Development Team
- US Army (AATD) and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
The team is recognized for developing an additional gear concept that reduces the number of stages in transmission systems, reduces overall gearbox weight and height requirements, and significantly improves designs that require high ratio reductions in an individual stage.
This demonstration proved a 32 percent increase in power density and a noise reduction of 12 decibels.
2008
- Survivable Affordable Repairable Airframe Program (SARAP) Virtual Prototype and Validation Development Team
- US Army and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
This year’s recipient is the US Army / Sikorsky Survivable Affordable Repairable Airframe Program (SARAP) Virtual Prototype and Validation Development Team. The team is recognized for validating the innovative design and manufacture of advanced composite structures to achieve aggressive weight reduction and recurring and non-recurring cost reductions.
These technologies, statically tested in 2007, are currently being incorporated into the Navy CH-53K and future upgrades to the Army UH-60 platform.
2007
- Paul Oldroyd and Tricia Hiros
- Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.
This year’s recipients are Paul Oldroyd, Chief Manufacturing R & D and Tricia Hiros of Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. They led a process development team at the coupon level, sub-component level, and were key participants in the flight-demo yoke program which demonstrated the Fiber-Placed yoke concept and validated the benefit. Subsequently, they were the principle drivers during the development and implementation of the Fiber-Placed yoke concept on the Bell Model 429.
2006
- No Award Presented
2005
- The Sikorsky Composite Tailcone/Stabilator Development Team
- Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
This year’s recipient is the Sikorsky Composite Tailcone/Stabilator Development Team comprised of Sikorsky Aircraft, Israeli Aircraft Industries, GKN Aerospace, and the Army ManTech organization. This team is recognized for demonstrating the economic viability of incorporating composite structures on mature production helicopter airframes.
2004
- The Complex Composite Structural Concepts (CCSC) Team
- The Boeing Company, US Army AATD, and the US Army Aviation & Missile Command
This year's recipient is the Complex Composite Structural Concepts (CCSC) Team, which includes The Boeing Company, U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, and the U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command Manufacturing Science & Technology Division.
2003
- NRTC/RITA Bell-Sikorsky High-Speed Machining of Titanium Team
- Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Manufacturing Labs Inc., University of Florida, University of North Carolina, NRTC, Remelle Engineering and RITA
The representatives of the team were- Edmund Leigh, Stephen Varansy, William Harris, Paul Darcy, Thomas S. Delio, John Schueller, Scott Smith, Bethany Wood, Andy Kerr, Glenn Bushendrof and Rande Vause.
2002
- Sikorsky Rotary Wing Structures Technology Demonstration Program
- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, US Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, The Boeing Co.
This program selected, matured and demonstrated technologies that will reduce the weight, manufacturing labor, and non-recurring development costs for helicopter airframes by 15%, 26% and 39%, respectively.
Accepting the award on behalf of the team was Bruce Kay, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.; Jon Schuck, US Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate;Tony Bonnington, Azerex Inc.;Mark Willenski, The Boeing Company (represented by Tom Carstensen of Sikorsky);Darrel Caldwell, Comanche Program Office, US Army; and David Bracci, GKN Aerospace Services.
2001
- 609 Wing Torque Integrated Product Team
- Bell-Agusta
2000
- Split Torque Transmission Team
- Boeing-Mesa, Derlan Aerospace Canada, DARPA, and NASA Glenn Research Center
For recognition of notable achievement in manufacturing research and development for rotorcraft or rotorcraft components brought to fruition in recent years.
Dr. Robert Handschuh, U.S.Army Research Lab, Allan McLerie, Derlan Aerospace Canada, David fisher, Derlan Aerospace Canada, Gregory Heath, Boeing and Dr. William Scheuren, DARPA.
1999
- The S-92 Development Team
- Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
1998
- The Tandem Rotor Program Producibility Team
For notable achievement in manufacturing research and development for rotrorcraft or rotorcraft components brought to fruition in recent years.
The Tendem Rotor Program Producibility Team was represented by Krishan Ashua, Airframe Integrated Product Team Leader for the Improved Cargo Helicopter Program and Bruce Thompson, lead engineer for airframe design at Boeing - Philadelphia.
1997
- V-22 Airframe Integrated Product Team
- Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopter Co.
Represented by Dave Snyder, Technical Director for the Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office in Award ceremony.
1996
- RAH 66 Comanche Precision Manufacturing Team
- Boeing-Sikorsky
For notable achievement in manufacturing research and development for rotorcraft or rotorcraft components brought to fruition in recent years.
Cached November 26, 2023 12:06:16 PM CST