Jonee Lynn Helms , known as
Lynn Helms, was a retired
U.S. Marine Corps
officer, former President of Piper Aircraft Corp. and is most
recognized for the years in which he served as Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration,
[1] as an appointee of President
Ronald Reagan died from cardiopulmonary failure and pneumonia he was 86.. He was born in De Queen, Arkansas.
(March 1, 1925 – December 11, 2011)
History
During his tenure as FAA Administrator, Helms originated and oversaw
development of the 1982 National Airspace System (NAS) Plan; He headed
the US delegation to the United Nations emergency session following the
Soviet Union’s shooting down of Korean Air Flight 007 and played a key
role in the August 3, 1981 Air traffic Control Strike that resulted in
the termination of over 11,000 Air Traffic Controllers.
[2] The firing and decertification of the union necessitated lengthy training of new controllers and extensive carrier delays.
Helms began his aviation career when he joined the U.S. Navy Aviation Cadet training program while at the
University of Oklahoma,
early in 1942. On completion of the program he was commissioned as a
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, remaining in the service as a
regular officer after the end of WW-II. Subsequent service included
postings to
Japan,
China,
Korea
and various aircraft carriers, and other Military Assignments. He
became a U.S. Navy test pilot on graduation from the U.S. Navy Test
Pilot School, was awarded the U. S. Marine Corps Air Medal, and the USAF
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster for Combat and Exceptional Service
during the Korean War. He subsequently retired from the Marine Corps
with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
After leaving the Marine Corps, Mr. Helms initially worked as a
Design Engineer for North American Aviation, with subsequent positions
of Sales Manager, and Director of Plans and Programs. In 1963 he joined
the Bendix Corporation, holding successive positions as Systems Division
General Manager, Group Manager, and Group Vice President, Aerospace. In
that latter position he directed the Launch Support Division, that
prepared all lunar and orbiter flights from Cape Kennedy. He also
personally directed the Systems Division in designing, assembling,
packaging and installing the
ALSEP (
Apollo Lunar Scientific Exploration Package) for Apollo astronauts to leave on the moon on the first lunar landing.
In 1970 he accepted the position of President, Norden Division,
United Aircraft Corporation. In 1974 he was elected President and CEO of
Piper Aircraft Corporation, later being named Chairman of the Board. In
1975 he negotiated with the Vice President of Brazil to construct a
factory and build Piper general aviation aircraft in Brazil. He joined
the Vice President in early 1978 to accept the first airplane off the
production line at the new facility, Embraer, in San Jose Dos Compos,
Brazil. In 1977 Mr. Helms landed the first private airplane in Warsaw,
Poland. Following subsequent visits he negotiated an agreement with
Pezetel, the Polish National Aircraft Co., to build Piper aircraft, the
first general aviation aircraft built behind the iron curtain.
In 1980 he retired from Piper, and subsequently accepted a role in
laying out the National Aviation Program for the in-coming Reagan
Administration. He was nominated by President Reagan for the office of
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, and confirmed by the
U.S. Senate.
Mr. Helms was affiliated with and a member of numerous National and
International organizations and entities. Mr. Helms was a Fellow in the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a trustee of the USAF Flight Test Museum, a Life Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a member of
Tau Beta Pi
Engineering Society, an Honorary in the Air Traffic Control
Association, Co-Founder of The J. Lynn Helms Aviation Science
Scholarship Fund, University of
Illinois, and a retired member of the
Wings Club of New York City.
In 1978 he was named General Aviation Man of the Year, and in 1979
was named Chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturer's Association.
In 1980, The Society of Experimental Test Pilots selected him for the
General James H. Doolittle award and trophy. In 1981 he headed the U.S.
Delegation to London for Bi-Lateral Technical and Operating Procedures
with the U.K. In 1982 he was named PenJerDel Man of the Year in
International Aviation, and also that year was selected as the first
recipient of the Gen. Pete R. Quesada award for Excellence in
Management. Mr. Helms was selected that year by The Royal Aeronautical
Society, approved by the Queen, to be the American chosen to deliver the
Annual Wright Brothers Lecture, at the Royal Academy Awards assembly in
London.
In 1982 he led the delegation for review of International Civil Air
discussions for the Western Mediterranean, which included North African
and Southern European countries. Also that year Mr. Helms was named
Special Ambassador to deliver thanks to the King of Morocco, and
individual recognition awards to each crew member of the two Air Morocco
aircraft that flew into Tehran, to recover U.S. hostages. In 1982 he
was awarded a Doctorate Honoris in Aviation Management for development
of the National Airspace Systems Plan (NAS Plan). Mr. Helms is
acknowledged as the “father” of the NAS Plan. In that effort he
personally directed the evaluation of U.S. Aviation Systems capability,
and outlined a concept for air traffic control and attendant scheduling
proficiency for aircraft collision avoidance. Mr. Helms personally
originated the concept to remove mid-air collision avoidance from ground
control, and place it into aircraft. His program resulted in TCAS,
(Traffic Collision and Avoidance System), initially mandatory for U.S.
carriers, and subsequently adopted by International aviation. For this
accomplishment Mr. Helms was nominated for The Collier Trophy. He also
initiated the National Airspace Review, to develop methods and
procedures for improved safety and operational efficiency in use of all
national airspace.
In 1983 Mr. Helms was selected by the President to head the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations,
ICAO
emergency convening which followed the downing of Korean Airlines
Flight 007 by the Soviet Union. That year he also headed the U.S.
Delegation to the U.K. for Bi-Lateral Aviation and Airworthiness
technical and operational review in London. He was also awarded the
annual Alpha Eta Rho award, “for outstanding contributions to Aviation
education.”
Mr. Helms has been a lecturer numerous times at various U. S.
Government educational institutions on the subject of “Planning and
Control”. In addition to The War College, Mr. Helms holds the invited
lecturer record, at seventeen years, and was named Honorary Professor,
National War College. In 1984 he was awarded a Doctoris Honoris in
Aviation Sciences, for his personal development of a new curricula
introduced at the University of Illinois, now offered by over three
dozen Colleges and Universities, which reflected the President’s call
for increased emphasis on science, math and technical education. Mr.
Helms represented the U.S. at the Trans-European conference on Air
Carrier Tariffs in Prague, and later that year chaired the U.S. Team for
Air Traffic Control and Technology in Moscow for the U.S.–U.S.S.R.
conference directed to the 21st Century. That year he was also selected
as recipient of the Smithsonian Institution residenced Glen L. Gilbert
trophy.
He died in December 2011 of complications from cardiopulmonary failure and
pneumonia at his Westport home.
[3]
To see more of who died in 2011
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Leonida Lari was a Romanian poet, journalist, and politician from the Republic of Moldova, who advocated for the reunion of Bessarabia with Romania died from breast cancer she was 62.. She published 24 volumes of poetry and prose and was a prolific translator of key works from world literature into Romanian 
Leonida Lari was born on October 26, 1949 in Bursuceni, Moldovan SSR,
one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. Her
parents, Ion and Nadejda Tuchilatu, were teachers. Lari had a younger
brother, Leonard Tuchilatu, also a poet, who died when he was only 24 of
kidney failure after being exposed to radiation under suspicious
circumstances while under mandatory service in the Soviet army.[1]
