Ray Prouty Has Passed

[The Sultan]

One of the most respected names in the industry has passed.

RIP Ray Prouty.

The Sultan

[twinstar_ca]

so sad to hear that... :uhoh::uhoh:

[alouette3]

That is truly a blow to our industry.RIP Ray and condolences to those he left behind.
Alt3.

[Helilog56]

Condolences to Ray's surviving family.....a big loss to our industry as Ray was a brilliant man.

[cattletruck]

A great engineer with a great ability to communicate complex systems and ideas. His legacy will live on for many decades to come.

[RVDT]

Consider myself fortunate to have spent a few hours talking "one on one" with Mr Prouty.

As quoted he was very good at explaining things and clearly admitted there was a lot he didn't know.

A very humble guy who I think the industry owes a lot more than it realises.

Sad to hear but he definitely "left a ding" as they say which is more than most.

[fly911]

I know that Ray spent a lot of effort writing so that we lesser educated on the subject could understand. Thank you Ray. Condolences to Ray's family.

[ShyTorque]

RIP Ray.

A helicopter explainer of extraordinary talent.

Having read his books in depth (they keep a prominent place on my bedside reading shelf), I could almost convince myself I understand at least some of what keeps me in the air.

[CRAN]

Truly sad news.

Ray Prouty has had a profound effect on my career and will continue to do so for many years. He is a big loss to the industry but leaves a wonderful legacy with us in the knowledge he shared and the helicopters that his knowledge is embedded within.

Thank you for everything you have done Ray and the knowledge and confidence you have left us with.

My deepest condolences go to his family.

Rest in peace.

CRAN

[rick1128]

It is sad to hear. I got to do his last class at HeliExpo. It was quite interesting.

Blue Skies, Ray

[IFMU]

He honored me once by asking for a copy of my AHS Lichten paper, when I was a young man. For him to show this kindness to me shows another side of his greatness. I still have his letter.

Bryan

[EC155B1]

Most of us probably started our flying career in RW with this name in our heart and soul.A gr8 loss to the RW society of this planet....May his soul RIP.

[Mast Bumper]

RIP

He had this great talent of helping me understand helicopters. Unlike any other author, he made it easy to grasp complex aerodynamic concepts in his books. He has been a big positive influence.

[Shawn Coyle]

I spoke with Joyce, his wife, today She's holding up well (at 87 or so) and is planning on a memorial service for Ray sometime later in October. Few details except it will be near their home, but at an airport. I'll talk to someone who is running interference for her later today, and keep ppruner's informed.
But no flowers for the funeral - it will be quite private.

[chopper2004]

RIP Ray,

A very sad loss , his books I studied and used at uni, and to this day with flying.

My heartfelt condolences reach out to his family and friends,

All the best and take care

[Shawn Coyle]

If anyone wants to send cards of condolence now - his wife would be glad to get them (she's overwhelmed at the ones she's getting). Please PM me for her address.
If you want to send them to the memorial service being planned for him -it's planned for the 26th of October at lunch at:

The First Neighborhood Community Center
31830 Village Center Road
Westlake Village, CA 91361
(818) 889-0632

I'll contact them and prepare them for the deluge. A couple of other things are in the works to honour Ray and his contributions.

[Vertical Freedom]

Rest in Peace Sir & condolences to Family

[DaveW]

I had originally thought to post this in the Flight Test forum, as that's the domain in which I first came across his work, but his influence on the rotary wing industry is much greater than that.

I only realised today that Ray Prouty died last September, at the fair age of 88.

Many, like me, will express regrets at that news, whereas rather more of you are likely to ask "Ray who?"

Well, the best I can do to answer that question is to point you to his American Helicopter Society obituary (https://vtol.org/news/ahs-mourns-the-passing-of-ray-prouty), but in short - to quote Shawn Coyle of hereabouts, in that obit - he was the "Grand Elder of the Helicopter Industry". He was a design engineer at Sikorsky, Lockheed, Bell and Hughes/McDonnell Douglas and was involved in many of the key US programmes that existed during his career.

As importantly, though, for the rest of us who came afterwards in the industry was his skill at explaining concepts both in writing and in person as a lecturer.

I had been reading his Rotor & Wing articles for some years and then had the privilege to meet him and experience his lecturing style in the late 1990s at a course in Williamsburg, VA. After the course I ran into him again in a second hand aviation bookshop nearby, which doubled as the bookseller's garage, and had a more personal conversation. He was a lovely, and apparently slightly shy, man.

Those articles, and his more academic text books, are an understandable, well written and well illustrated goldmine for anybody interested in why helicopters are designed as they are. The first two volumes of his collated R&W columns (Vol.3 will apparently be produced) are available amazingly cheaply for such material online - and from a mainstream supplier, too. (Which one? Well, we shouldn't advertise here, but it's the first one you probably thought of!)

RIP Ray, and thanks for all the help.

https://vtol.org/images/dmImage/StandardImage/Raymond%20Prouty.jpg