The Royal Aeronautical Society has been honouring outstanding achievers in the global aerospace industry since 1909, when Wilbur and Orville Wright came to London to receive the Society’s first Gold Medal.
The Sir Ralph Robins Medal – named after the former CEO of Rolls Royce – was introduced in 2018 to encourage excellence in engineering leadership during the early and middle stages of an individual’s career.
Simon, who is Chief Project Engineer for the AW101/EH101 aircraft at Leonardo’s UK helicopter facility in Yeovil, the Home of British Helicopters, received the award for his key technical leadership role within the company, being responsible for the type design of new variants and the continuing airworthiness of the 170-strong fleet of in-service aircraft.
Commenting after receiving his award, Simon said: “I am honoured to receive such a prestigious award but really I do so on behalf of the whole team here in the Helicopter Division. We have world class capability and this award reflects this.”
Simon was nominated by Leonardo Helicopters UK Product Engineering Director, Mike Overd. Explaining why he felt Simon is a worthy recipient of the award, Mike said: “Simon is an exceptionally talented member of the engineering leadership team within Leonardo Helicopters. He has the ability to skilfully balance technical, safety and commercial judgements, and is well respected by our customers.”
The company has been delivering helicopters in Yeovil since the 1940s, with over 60% of the current UK MOD fleet of helicopters starting life in Yeovil. In recognition of its rich aviation history, Yeovil was named the Home of British Helicopters at a ceremony earlier this year hosted at Leonardo’s busy production line and attended by representatives from across government, business, academia and the local community.