SPECIAL FAMILY
When he mentions his family, Smith becomes an enthusiastic fan-boy when he talks about his son, Mac. “He’s got a brain that’s wired like mine (that focuses obsessively on a subject) and he’s interested in the helicopter business. Over the holidays, I was in the office and he was with me, listening to conversations and walking the shop floor. He’s a Boy Scout and I try to stay active with him in that. I’m an Eagle Scout and he’s half-way there!”
Another thing the highly functioning 12-year-old has also partially accomplished is de-engineering. “He likes to take things apart around the house and study how they work. So a big hobby of mine is going around behind him to put things back together he can’t fix and make sure he doesn’t burn the house down,” Smith says with no trace of annoyance. The boy’s hands-on education is furthered by his mom homeschooling him; Emily left her career as a speech therapist to do so.
Father and son also have a common affinity for disaster movies. “We just watched Greenland, which was good even though I had to edit some stuff out for him,” Smith said. Dad also likes watching sci-fi and, he says, “clever dramas.” His reading is “confined to all things aviation, including every accident report I can get my hands on.”
VIEW FROM THE TOP
What was no accident, but rather a methodical plan, was Smith’s in-house promotion from VP of operations to Robinson Helicopter Company president and CEO in 2024 when Kurt Robinson retired from those responsibilities. How have the past couple of years been going for Smith in his new roles? The CEO/ president candidly answers, “I see success somedays, but we have so much more to do. My team is super successful and performing at a high level, but I don’t know if I will ever feel personally successful until one day 20 years from now when I retire and look back. Right now, I’m in the middle of playing whack-a-mole and reshuffling priorities.”
David Smith, son, Mac, and wife, Emily, at VAI - VERTICON 2024.
A main priority is eventually expanding Robinson Helicopter Company from its current core business of designing and building lightweight helicopters such as the R22, R44, R66, and recently announced eight-passenger R88.
Smith has a compelling vision of what Robinson Helicopter Company will look like when he retires in the distant future: “In 25 years, if there’s another Hurricane Helene-type crisis, Robinson helicopters will still be the backbone of the response, but who will then supply the heavy-lift Chinooks, Black Hawks, etc.? They’ll be retired and the companies that made those products won’t make them anymore. We can build all sizes: small, medium, and big and I think that’s what we’re going to go after down the road, but we will stay connected to our current customer base as we expand.”
“ 16 Jan/Feb 2026
I think Robinson Helicopter is in the best position to fulfill the future needs of the vertical-lift space. If it needs to hover, it will come from Torrance.
Smith gives a tour at the Robinson factory in Torrance, California.
“
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
