NBAA Marks the Passing of Aviation Innovator Dick Taylor, Father of ETOPS

Oct. 7, 2015

NBAA noted the passing of renowned aviation innovator Dick Taylor at age 93.

“Dick Taylor was – by any standard – one of the significant figures in the history of aviation,” said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO, noting that Taylor led the transition from three- and four-person commercial airplane crews to today’s two-pilot cockpits in the Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777.

But, Bolen added, Taylor is perhaps best known as the father of extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards (ETOPS). His efforts to educate the industry, government and public about the safety of long-range twin-engine airplanes were largely responsible for the current face of commercial and business aviation.

“Some people do planes. Some people do policy. Dick Taylor did both at a level that is hard to comprehend,” said Bolen. “Even more than that, he did it all with a class, grace and humility that was truly unique. He is absolutely one of the finest gentlemen I have ever met. It has been a great blessing to know him.”

With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, Taylor joined Boeing in 1946 after serving in World War II as a U.S. Army artillery spotter pilot. A design engineer, he held many positions. Among them was test pilot on the B-47 Stratojet, in which he developed and demonstrated the “toss-bombing” technique, and the KB-29 aerial tanker, in which he traded the test pilot’s seat for one in the tail to conduct the first refueling boom operation.

Taylor held a number of Boeing management positions, including chief of flight test, director of engineering at the Wichita Division, director of engineering for the 737 and vice president of product development at the Renton Division.

He was elected a fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1967 and of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1976. In 1991 the FAA recognized him with its Distinguished Service Award, in 1992 the National Aeronautics Association bestowed upon him its Elder Statesman of Aviation Award, and in 2010 Aviation Week presented him with the Phillip J. Klass Lifetime Achievement Laureate Award.

Beyond his work at Boeing, Taylor served as a director at the Museum of Flight in Seattle and at the Experimental Aircraft Association, and he set nine world speed records in his Piper Aerostar.