Professional Pilot, March 2016

PASSING VISIONARY Aviation Leader Jeff Pino leaves a promising legacy at XTI Aircraft By Pro Pilot staff Sikorsky President Jeff Pino received the Professional Pilot Technical Development of the Year award in 2011 for building and flying the 220 kt speed setting X2 coaxial helicopter which led to the coaxial S97 Raider In a get together at the 2011 Pro Pilot PRASE Awards dinner in Alexandria VA we see L R Sikorsky Pres Jeff Pino Former FAA Assoc Admin for Flight Standards Nick Sabatini HAI President Matt Zuccaro and PP Publisher Murray Smith Charlie Johnson takes over as interim XTI president An accomplished USAF pilot Johnson flew F105s as one of the famous Black Crows to ferret out enemy radar emplacements during the Vietnam conflict He became a close friend of Cessna CEO Russ Meyer and later was named Cessna president Johnson was also recently made a member of the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame PROFESSIONAL PILOT March 2016 27 On Feb 5 2016 the aviation community lost one of its luminaries Jeffrey Paul Pino who died unexpectedly in Maricopa AZ doing what he loved Flying his P51D Mustang A retired master Army aviator and test pilot a certified flight instructor for both fixed wing and rotary wing an accomplished aerobatic airshow performer Jeff s flight log recorded thousands of hours of diversified flight time Jeff built a remarkable career in aviation filled with accomplishments too many to cite Following his Army flying he spent 17 years at Bell and then joined Sikorsky in 2002 In 2006 he was named the youngest president in Sikorskys history He catapulted Sikorsky to the forefront of rotorcraft innovation growing Sikorsky from 2 billion in annual sales to more than 7 billion and from being 4th largest supplier of helicopters to the 1st Retiring from Sikorsky in 2012 Jeff led Macquarie Rotorcraft Leasing as CEO He brought to everything he did his inexhaustible personal energy natural leadership abilities and abiding passion for aviation Backed by decades of experience in the development of new innovative aircraft from concept through design and certification Jeff was the ideal person to join a legendary team of aviation experts at XTI Aircraft Co dedicated to reshaping the future of flight with its revolutionary TriFan 600 ducted fan VTOL The buzz behind this game changer aircraft extends from CNN to Fortune and Robb Report to Reuters Popular Science calls it one of the Top 100 innovations of 2015 The TriFan 600 combines the speed range and comfort of a business jet with the ability to take off and land like a helicopter XTI has raised more than 20M in expressions of interest through equity crowdfunding and a further plan is to now trade shares on the over the counter secondary market in a XTI TriFan 600 ducted fan VTOL Sikorsky S97 coaxial helicopter live offering Development of the TriFan 600 continues unabated as it moves toward a flying prototype with Charlie Johnson former Cessna exec as the new XTI CEO Even though he left us at the young age of 61 Jeff Pino casts a wide bright light across our industry that shines today in the faces of the spirited people of XTI Aircraft Jeffs spirit will continue to inspire us to reach for excellence in all that we do Photo by José Vásquez