ROLAND E. BAINBRIDGE

Roland Bainbridge is the former Director of Engineering of Boeing Airplane Services—Wichita Division. He was named Director of Engineering in 1999 and retired from that position in April of 2002.

Bainbridge began his career at Handley Page Ltd. in England where, in 1956, he began his Engineering apprenticeship. Once his apprenticeship was completed, he joined the company as a stress engineer. Some of the various aircraft designs he worked with through Handley Page Ltd. were the HP115 (an experimental aircraft to study low speed stall characteristics), Victor B Mk 2 Bomber, Victor Tanker, Fokker Fellowship, and the Jetstream. In 1967 he immigrated with his family to the United States, where he joined The Boeing Company—Vertol Division as a stress engineer. While at Vertol, he worked on the CH-46 (Sea Knight) and CH-47 (Chinook) helicopters. His work encompassed various aspects of the helicopter including airframe, transmission, and rotor blades. Before transferring to Wichita Division, he did preliminary design work on the Boeing Tilt Rotor experimental aircraft, which led to the V22 Osprey. When he was at Vertol, he presented papers to the American Helicopter Society to The International Symposium on Crashworthiness. In 1977, he transferred to the Wichita Division, in which he held various positions in management, including Stress Manager on the design of the B767 and the B757, Chief of Technology Integration on the 707 Tanker, Air Force One, 747 Space Shuttle Carrier, Joint STARS, and various military programs. Upon transferring to Boeing Commercial, he held the position of Chief of Structures Technology on the B777 and the B737 Next Generation Designs. In 1995, he took over the Modification Engineering organization and was responsible for the conversion of the B767, B757, and B747 to freighters. Bainbridge received his Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering in 1962 from Hendon College of Technology in London, England, which has since been incorporated into the Middlesex University of London. He qualified as a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in 1967.

Roland lives with his wife, Kate. Now that he is retired, he spends his time playing golf, volunteering at the Nationwide Tour Wichita Open, reading, yoga, and traveling. Previously, he has been President of Camp Seecyaj (a Summer Camp for Mentally Disadvantaged Children, a Junior Chamber International Senator, and President of his Homeowner’s Association.

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