VFS Southwest Chapter

VFS Southwest Region

2026 Robert L. Lichten Award Competition

The Southwest Region of the Vertical Flight Society will hold its annual Robert L. Lichten Award regional competition on Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at Bell’s Fort Worth Headquarters from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. Competitors will be invited to present in person or via live stream/webinar platform.

The purpose of the Lichten competition is to promote the exchange of technical information by encouraging VFS members to write and present papers dealing with all areas of rotorcraft technologies. This competition is especially tailored to provide new presenters an opportunity to be recognized for their contributions to the field. All VFS members who have not previously presented a paper at a national or regional meeting of the VFS or other technical societies are eligible. Please refer to the Procedures and Eligibility Statement for the official rules.

Competitors will make a minimum 20-minute presentation in front of judges and other VFS members. The winner of the regional competition will receive a $250 honorarium from the VFS Southwest Region and will be nominated to the international competition. A $100 and $50 honorarium will be presented to 2nd and 3rd place respectively from the VFS Southwest Region.

The winner of the regional competition will write a paper due no later than February 28, 2026 to be judged at the international level. The winner of the international Lichten Award will be invited to present his/her paper at the Vertical Flight Society’s 82nd Annual Forum & Technology Display, May 5-7, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida and receive a travel reimbursement stipend of up to $1,500 to attend the Forum, complimentary registration and lodging, and a $500 honorarium. The international Lichten Award first runner-up will also be invited to present their paper and will receive complimentary registration.

If you are interested in competing for the VFS Southwest Region Lichten Award, submit an approved* abstract/outline of your presentation and the Lichten Eligibility Checklist by C.O.B. Wednesday, November 19, 2025, to Southwest Region Lichten Award Coordinator Loren Ahaus at email lahaus@bellflight.com. The Lichten Eligibility Statement and guideline is available for download at: Lichten Eligibility Checklist.

*All abstracts and presentations must go through company management and government approvals. Authors are solely responsible for obtaining these approvals.

Visit our events page HERE to secure your tickets!

VFS Schank HSVTOL - at UTA - OCT 2025 - Bell Version.pptx

Visit our events page HERE to secure your tickets!

VFS_Schank_HSVTOL_JUL 2025_FINAL

Check out our Events page for ticketing options.

The Vertical Flight Society Southwest Chapter presents

Helimisson: Medevac for the Poor and More

by Simon Tanner, Director of Helimission International

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Helimission was founded in 1971 as an international relief organization operating from helicopters. Helimission is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Trogen, Switzerland, helping people in need in remote and inaccessible areas by transporting medical patients and personnel, disaster relief efforts, supporting local organizations and more. Current missions are underway in Madagascar, and Papua with operations starting up in Brazil and India in 2025. Prior missions completed throughout South America, Europe, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia.

Simon Tanner has been the international director of Helimission since 2002 taking over from his father who founded Helimission. Before leading Helimission he was a Project Manager in Switzerland and prior to that he was a Base Manager in Albania. Simon obtained his helicopter license since 1992.

Tickets available on Events page.

VFS HeliMission - MAR 2025.pptx

Check out our Events page for ticketing options.

The Vertical Flight Society Southwest Chapter presents

How the H-1 Upgrade Program Started

by Jim Harse, Former Bell Chief Engineer on H-1 Upgrade Program

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Bell retiree, Jim Harse, will present the origin of the H-1 Upgrade program which is traced to the 1960s UH-1, Huey.  By 1968, that design led to the creation of the AH-1, Cobra, attack version. Jim follows the UH and AH aircraft through a progression that kept the utility and attack helicopters relevant to the current UH-1Y and Z models. With growing demand for safety and performance, Jim presents key attributes that allowed affordable upgrades over the decades, leading to the simultaneous upgrade for the Huey and Cobra. Based on 80+% commonality between the two platforms, common spare parts permitted a significantly smaller logistical footprint, making the aircraft the mainstay for the US Marine Corps.

Jim Harse has over 52 years of experience in the aviation and rotorcraft industry. Jim graduated from the University of Texas in 1971 and spent most of his career at Bell starting in a research analysis group focused on dynamic systems before transitioning to engineering. His experience spans many roles including staff engineer of preliminary design, Chief Engineer of Air Vehicle for the H-1 Upgrade program, Director of Mechanical Systems, and Technical Fellow guiding conceptual and predesign activities for commercial programs.

**Please note that this will be our annual membership drive dinner! Any member who brings a non-VFS guest will be entered into a raffle with prizes worth $200+. Any non-members that opt to join our VFS family within two weeks of this event will also be entered into a separate raffle

Tickets available on Events page.

VFS Harse - FEB 2025

Check out our Events page for ticketing options.

The Vertical Flight Society Southwest Chapter presents

Model Based Systems Engineering for the Future of Vertical Lift

by Steven Skinner

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

This presentation examines the transition from requirement-based to model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and how it has helped transform the way vertical flight systems are developed for commercial and government applications in a digital world.

Steve Skinner recently retired after more than 45 years developing systems for atmospheric science, aviation, aerospace, and defense industries. Since moving to Texas in 1992, Steve has worked as an electrical engineer and systems engineer for TI/Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Bell Helicopter. Steve retired from Bell in 2015 after 10 years in systems engineering management for the ARH and FLRAA development efforts, and a few years leading functional systems engineering. After “retiring”, Steve returned to Bell as an independent consultant advising the V-280 Valor tiltrotor team for another 7 years to secure the US Army FLRAA contract.

Steve also served as an adjunct professor for 12 years at SMU Lyle School of Engineering creating and teaching graduate systems engineering courses, concentrating on Department of Defense processes for product acquisition, reliability, and system integration.

Steve earned a PhD and MS degree from Southern Methodist University in Systems Engineering, and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado.

 

CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR TICKETING OPTIONS

Paypal, payroll deduct (Bell employees) available!

 

Skinner_MBSE

Check out our Events page for ticketing options.

The Vertical Flight Society Southwest Chapter presents

Drone Light Show Technology

a presentation by Preston Ward, Chief Pilot, and Rick Boss, Director of Business Development for Sky Elements

Wednesday, December 6th, 2023

Sky Elements is the leading provider of drone light shows in North America. Their drone light shows are made to inspire both in person and on video.

Check out their Website and Youtube for more information and videos.

Though located here in North Texas, their work has been on display across the nation and they are the proud winners of a Guinness World Record for “largest aerial sentence” formed by drones, achieved during the North Richland Hills Fourth of July celebration!

Preston Ward is a practicing attorney who has a love for fireworks, drones, and all things technology. As Chief Pilot, he is Sky Elements’ drone flight expert. He has flown all over North America piloting countless drone light shows and has an expansive knowledge base that has been honed by hours of flying in different environments. Preston has a degree in business administration with an emphasis in information systems from the University of Texas at Arlington. He also obtained his Juris Doctorate from the Texas A&M School of Law, and LLM from the University of Texas at Austin.

Rick Boss leads the Sky Elements Business Development side and spearheads the team’s product management and sales division. As the Director of Business Development, he is the face of Sky Elements and works tirelessly to ensure that the drone light show experience is seamless for clients from start to finish. Rick’s coordination, business acumen, and years of experience leading successful startups help keep the company moving forward on the right path, making him a key component of their team’s success.

 

CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR TICKETING OPTIONS

Paypal, payroll deduct (Bell employees) available!

 

SkyElementsDrones

VFS Southwest Region

2024 Robert L. Lichten Award Competition

The Southwest Region of the Vertical Flight Society will hold its annual Robert L. Lichten Award regional competition on Tuesday, December 5th, 2023 in Bell’s Fort Worth Headquarters Tech Auditorium from 4:00 – 6:30 PM. Competitors will be invited to present in person or via live stream/webinar platform.

The purpose of the Lichten competition is to promote the exchange of technical information by encouraging VFS members to write and present papers dealing with all areas of rotorcraft technologies. This competition is especially tailored to provide new presenters an opportunity to be recognized for their contributions to the field. All VFS members who have not previously presented a paper at a national or regional meeting of the VFS or other technical societies are eligible. Please refer to the Procedures and Eligibility Statement for the official rules.

Competitors will make a 20-minute presentation in front of judges and other VFS members. The winner of the regional competition will receive a $250 honorarium from the VFS Southwest Region and will be nominated to the international competition. A $100 and $50 honorarium will be presented to 2nd and 3rd place respectively from the VFS Southwest Region.

The winner of the regional competition will write a paper due no later than February 28, 2024 to be judged at the international level. The winner of the international Lichten Award will be invited to present his/her paper at the Vertical Flight Society’s 80th Annual Forum & Technology Display, May 7-9, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and receive a travel reimbursement stipend of up to $1,500 to attend the Forum, complimentary registration and lodging, and a $500 honorarium. The international Lichten Award first runner-up will also be invited to present their paper and will receive complimentary registration.

If you are interested in competing for the VFS Southwest Region Lichten Award, submit an approved* abstract/outline of your presentation and the Lichten Eligibility Checklist by C.O.B. Wednesday, November 15, 2023, to Southwest Region Lichten Award Coordinator Loren Ahaus at email lahaus@bellflight.com. The Lichten Eligibility Statement and guideline is available for download at: Lichten Eligibility Checklist.

*All abstracts and presentations must go through company management and government approvals. Authors are solely responsible for obtaining these approvals.

The Vertical Flight Society Southwest Chapter presents

A Vision for the Future of the Vertical
Flight Society

a presentation by Angelo Collins, Executive Director, Vertical Flight Society

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Mr. Angelo Collins is the 7th and latest Executive Director of the Vertical Flight Society, the world’s only international non-profit dedicated to the advancement of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft and technology. A member of VFS since 2009, he served as the Administrative Chair of the first Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) Workshop in 2014. Before VFS, Angelo was an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, where he supervised a team of engineers and analysts supporting numerous cutting-edge programs in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO).

Collins has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland (UMD) and an M.S. in Engineering Administration from Virginia Tech. Though a native of the Boston, Massachusetts area he has lived and worked in Arlington, Virginia, for 15 years, where he resides with his wife and three children.

A networking social with passed hor d’oeuvres will follow the presentation.

Looking for more fun? The Southwest Chapter will also be holding a fishbowl raffle!
Prizes at this time include:
● VFS Swag
● Tickets to the Fort Worth Aviation Museum
● A private, in-home whiskey tasting for you and three friends
and MORE!

 

CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR TICKETING OPTIONS

Paypal, payroll deduct (Bell employees) available!

 

CollinsNetworkingFlyer

The Vertical Flight Society Southwest Chapter presents

An Introduction to the Zeppelin NT 07 – Passenger Rated Tiltrotor Airship

a presentation by Francis Govers, Associate Technical Fellow for Autonomy at Bell Helicopter

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

This presentation provides an introduction to airships in general and the Zeppelin NT 07 in particular. The Zeppelin NT is a 13-passenger airship with vectored thrust motors and a unique tail rotor that allows function as a VTOL aircraft, and was selected in 2011 by Goodyear to replace the iconic “Goodyear Blimp”. Normal blimps and airships can’t hover and require a large 20 person groundcrew for takeoff and landing but the NT has infinite hover time and needs only 3 ground crew. Airships have by far the best safety record of any flying vehicle with only two fatalities in the last 60 years. We will discuss how airships work, how to live with helium, how they fly with a balance of static lift (buoyancy), dynamic lift and vectored thrust. We will see how an airship is controlled, balanced, and trimmed, and even go through some pilot training.

Francis Govers has contributed to the design of over 30 manned and unmanned land, sea, air and space vehicles. He currently is the Associate Technical Fellow for Autonomy at Bell Textron, and is the founder of the Bell Autonomy Department. He is an Air Force veteran, was head of command and control for the International Space Station, Deputy Chief Engineer for Unmanned Systems at the US Army Future Combat Systems, Chief Engineer of Elbit Systems of America, CTO of Gamma 2 Robotics, participated in the DARPA Grand Challenge, managed a Zeppelin airship, and is a factory-trained Zeppelin ground school instructor. He was responsible for maintaining the “Yellow Line” for NFL football and designed the onboard telemetry systems for NASCAR and IndyCar. He has published 48 articles and papers and authored the book “Artificial Intelligence for Robotics”. He received five outstanding achievement awards from NASA, and recognition from Scientific American for “World Changing Ideas”. Francis earned his Master of Science degree from Brandeis University.

 

CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR TICKETING OPTIONS

Paypal, payroll deduct (Bell employees) available!

 

GoversZeppelinNTFlyer3