More detail on this person: Mr. Taylor served
as a Crew Systems Design engineer in the
Systems Integration Department of Bell Helicopter
Textron, Ft. Worth, Texas, until his retirement as
Principal Engineer in Dec. 2000. Mr. Taylor's
accomplishments include: Design engineer for the
man-machine interface for the Army Digital
Avionics System (ADAS), one of the early research
"glass" cockpits, Lead Display Analyst and a
senior engineer in the design of the OH-58D
cockpit and the display symbology. The OH-58D
was the first production military helicopter with
a computer display cockpit. Mr. Taylor received a
patent for a NVG compatible landing light for
efforts during this program.
He served as the lead analyst and a research
designer as part of the Army Rotorcraft Technology
Insertion (ARTI) research program, a predecessor
research program that led to the development of
the US Army LHX. Mr. Taylor worked various
systems on the MV-22 and CV-22 Tilt Rotor and
served as team leader of the Communications
Working Group. He was also a team member on
the digital map, flight display, and electronics
warfare design teams. During the AH-1 Cobra
Upgrade Program (AH-1Z Super Cobra), Mr. Taylor
served as the engineering team leader of the
communications system man-machine interface
design team for system functions designs , display
functions and symbology and as working group
leader of the Electronics Warfare Systems
man-machine interface design working group. Mr.
Taylor's last working assignment at Bell
Helicopter was as a research engineer working with
NASA, the U.S. Army, DARPA, and other federal
agencies to develop âÇopathway in the skyâÇ¥ and
synthetic vision technology and symbology.
Beginning in late 1998, as the co-chair of the
Government/ Industry working group, he helped
develop symbology and display standardization
recommendations for national standards in cockpit
displays. As part of the program, he researched
the industry and brought onboard, systems and
personnel that could be used as springboards to
provide 21st century flight and navigation systems
and techniques for helicopter operations. Prior
to joining Bell Helicopter in 1977, Mr. Taylor
served 21 years in the U.S. Military (Army) with
final military assignments as a U.S. Army
Acceptance Test Pilot at Bell Helicopter in Fort
Worth, Texas (1970-1977) following duty as a
combat aviator (2+ tours) in Vietnam. His awards
include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service
Medal, Air Medal, Commendation Medal, Vietnam
Campaign Medal with 6 stars, and various other US
and foreign awards. Mr. Taylor is author or
co-author of several technical papers on the
subject of Human Factors Engineering, Cockpit
Design, Electro- Optics and, Chemical Warfare
Hardening designs. Unclassified portions of his
work are published in the American Helicopter
Society Journal, SPIE Journal (The International
Society for Optical Engineering), the NATO-based
Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and
Development (AGARD) publications, as well as
numerous technical reports at Bell Helicopter.
In addition to technical publications Mr. Taylor
has been recognized for providing "significant
research" contributions to the condensed aviation
history of the Vietnam War entitled "Primer of the
Helicopter WarâÇ¥ by Charles Holley and Mike
Sloniker. He holds a BS degree in Aviation
Technology with advanced work in Human Factors
engineering.
Robert R. "Bob" Taylor, 72, passed away peacefully
at his home in North Richland Hills on Sunday
after a long battle with cancer. Memorial services
will be held at 10:00AM Tuesday, December 27 at
Laurel Land in Dallas, TX, followed by graveside
services at the Dallas Ft. Worth National
Cemetery. A 20 year veteran of the U.S. Military,
Vietnam combat veteran and retired aerospace
engineer, Bob was a loving husband, father,
grandfather and friend. He will be dearly missed.
Bob was raised in the "Tri-Cities" area on the
Tennessee/Virginia border, the only son of Emmitt
Clay Taylor and Edna Mae McMillan. His 20-year
military career began with his enlistment at age
17 in the U.S. Air Force and included service in
post-war Korea and participation in the Cuban
Missile Crisis. After seven years in the Air
Force, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army during the
Vietnam War, where he became a helicopter pilot.
As a pilot, he served more than two tours in
Vietnam, logging nearly 700 hours of combat flying
time with 119th Assault Helicopter Co. and the
101st Airborne Division. During his time in
Vietnam, he was awarded a Presidential Unit
Citation, Two Meritorious Unit Citations, The
Bronze Star, The Meritorious Service Medal and 13
Air Medals.
After returning from Vietnam, Bob spent six years
as an Army test pilot at the Bell Helicopter plant
in Hurst, TX. Following retirement from the Army,
Bob worked as an engineer at Bell Helicopter,
earning a BS from Dallas Baptist College in 1981.
During his 23 year career at Bell, he designed
systems for many of the most advanced rotary wing
aircraft in the US military including the OH-58D
Kiowa Warrior, the AH-1W SuperCobra, the AH-1Z
Zulu, and the V-22 Osprey. He was also awarded
several patents in areas ranging from night vision
technology to nuclear/biological/chemical warfare
defense. After retirement from Bell, he became
active in several veterans organizations including
the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, The
Veterans of Foreign Wars, The "091" Project, The
National Vietnam War Museum, and The Wounded
Warrior Project.
Bob is survived by his wife of 47 years, Anna
Beeson Taylor, three sons, Rick, Bryan and Jayme,
seven grandchildren and his Brothers in Arms from
all branches of service.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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