Ted Dumont
I was deeply saddened to read of the passing of Ted Dumont. Ted became a very good, and greatly respected friend during my various activities in the HAI. He possessed an incredible memory and recall of everything he was ever involved with. He also had an amount of energy and enthusiasm for everything he was ever involved with, that could put people 60 years his junior to shame with his tireless work ethic.
I always remember the day when he called me after seeing a picture of Sikorsky S61N, N301Y when it had just been shortened. This aircraft was (is) the original commercial S61 that was ever built, and Ted had been responsible for the certification of that programme from the outset. He had watched it being built from the ground up and was responsible for the certification programme that produced that helicopter that truly set the course of this industry and revolutionised helicopter capability, not to mention my own career. He was amazed that it was still flying and of course, being modified to continue flying for a long time to come. The longevity of these products is a tribute to the ability and capability of this generation of engineers. One of his colleagues once told me that Ted was the second most recognisable person that worked at Sikorsky, after Igor Sikorsky himself.
Ted was a very quiet and unassuming gentleman. He was a wealth of knowledge, highly intelligent and highly organised. I learned all kinds of amazing facts and information from him, with the ability to talk to an individual who was in the middle of all these amazing things that were going on around the time of my birth, and the creation of the products that gave me every opportunity that has ever come my way. It was my great honour to have known and worked with him, and I offer my sincere condolences to his family.
I will miss you, Ted.
Theodore E. "Ted" Dumont, Special Advisor Emeritus to HAI: 1919-2005
Posted on Thursday, November 03 @ 17:54:30 Eastern Standard Time By News Staff
Helicopter Association International is saddened to report the death of Theodore E. (Ted) Dumont, long-time special advisor to the HAI’s Board of Directors. He worked tirelessly for HAI, for more than 15 years as a volunteer, where he became known as the “TOR Guru,” (Terms of Reference) for HAI Committees. Mr. Dumont died unexpectedly on November 2, 2005.
Ted was born in 1919, in Bellevue, Kentucky. He graduated from the Aeronautical Engineering program at the University of Cincinnati in 1942. After earning his commission as 2nd Lieutenant, and filling varied engineering roles in the U.S. Army Air Force, in 1946, Ted went to New York, to work for the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) (precursor to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)), where he met his wife, Connie. Ted was a helicopter airframe specialist and in the time before the Korean War started, he covered the certification of the Bell 47B and B3. In 1951, Ted was recalled to the U.S. Air Force as the liaison officer assigned to Sikorsky Aircraft Company.
After a brief stint with the FAA, in 1955, Ted went to work for Sikorsky as its FAA coordinator, where he worked for 30 years until his retirement. While with Sikorsky, Ted was involved in the certification of the S-55C, S-58, S-58T, S-61A, S-61L, S-61N, S-62A, S-64A, E, and F. He first became associated with the Helicopter Association of America (HAA), HAI’s precursor, while working on certification standards in 1960.
His record of service to the industry was long and noteworthy. In 1973 he became a member of HAI’s Regulation Committee, becoming Chairman in 1976, and remaining in the chair until 1988. In 1980 he was designated Special Advisor to the HAI Board of Directors for Regulatory Affairs. In 1981, he was designated as a Special Advisor Emeritus to the HAI Board of Directors, a position he held until his passing. He was past chairman of the Rotorcraft Sub-committee of the FAA ARAC, chairman of the Rotorcraft Working Group of the FAA Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee.
Later, Ted helped to establish AeroRegs International, a consulting service, working with Kaman in the certification of the KMAX helicopter and with Erickson Air-Crane in the transition of the FAA Type Certificate for the S-64E and F helicopter.
During his long association with rotorcraft aviation, Ted received numerous recognitions and awards. In 1982 he was selected to receive HAI’s Lawernce D. Bell Memorial award, in company with the late Joe Mashman. In 1985, he was awarded the FAA silver medal for service to Rotorcraft Safety. In 1991 he was named an Honorary Member of HAI. In 1999, he received an HAI Fellow Award, and in 2002, Ted was inducted into the Twirly Birds as an Associate Member. He was awarded Membership Wings in the HAI Eagles Club in 2005.
Ted was a contributor to ROTOR magazine, and he was a guest editor of the AHS in their magazine, Vertiflight, with the paper, Anticipation: The Road to Regulatory Reform.
Ted believed in giving back to the community, and volunteered in several endeavors. He was a volunteer at the Sikorsky Archives, and at the Milford Hospital Auxiliary, as a pharmacy courier. Ted used to joke about this distinction, noting that he had come full circle, pointing out that his very first job was a drugstore delivery boy in 1934, earning a wage of 25 cents an hour.
Ted is survived by his wife of 60 years, Connie, daughter, Stephanie D. Pasacreta, and son, T. James Dumont, both of Milford, and a sister-in-law, Phyllis Graziano, of Bronxville, New York. Ted Dumont’s viewing is scheduled for November 4, from 5-7 p.m., at the Cody-White Funeral Home at 107 Broad Street on the Green, Milford, Connecticut. His funeral is to be held on Saturday, November 5, at noon at the 1st United Church of Christ Congregational, 34 West Main Street, Milford, Connecticut. Committal will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 5 Brookside Drive, Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, or to a charity of one’s choice.