Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America

1935-2024

Bill Dixon, Boeing Engineer

William J. “Bill” Dixon, Jr.,  was a VFS Emeritus Member, having been a member for 54 years.

Dixon was born in Missouri on Feb. 9, 1935. He was a graduate of Beloit High School in Wisconsin. After high school, he attended the University of Kansas (KU), receiving his degree in aeronautical engineering. At KU, he met his wife, JeRue. A life-long, die-hard KU Jayhawks fan, he enjoyed following their football and basketball teams.

After graduating from KU, Dixon was drafted into the US Army for the Korean War. After two years in the Army, he landed a job at Boeing as an aeronautical engineer. At Boeing, he first worked in Wichita, Kansas, then was transferred to Seattle, Washington. In 1964, Dixon and family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, for what he thought would only be a six-month assignment at the Boeing Vertol plant near Philadelphia; once he settled in Delaware, he never left. He loved his work and remained at Boeing for 43 years, until his retirement. He had several different positions, including designing and building the wind tunnel in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, and later overseeing their computer division.

Former Boeing manager Steve Glusman noted that Dixon was “central to the advancement of Boeing Vertol’s entry into the digital world. He led the transition to CAD/CAM, then CATIA and 3D modeling, as well as entry into the PC and then Mac worlds.”

Former colleague Dan Newman recalled, “Bill led the computing activities in Boeing Philadelphia, highlighted by the dramatic changes from centralized mainframes to workstations to desktops. He cleverly morphing the staff support from centralized to distributed to match the technology. He brought good humor to all he did.”

Dixon was known for wearing his yellow ruler suspenders and often received nice compliments on them. He would say, “I wear them for two reasons … I get nice compliments from people like you and it keeps my pants up!” Dixon was especially proud of confronting his alcoholism and remained sober for the last half-century of his life.

Dixon joined VFS (then the American Helicopter Society) in 1970. He was a member of the Gold Circle Club for 25 years of continuous membership and a VFS Emeritus Member for 50+ years of membership. He was the co-author on several technical papers, including, “Evaluation of a 10-Foot Diameter X-Wing Rotor” at Forum 80 in 1984.

Bill Dixon 89, of Wilmington, Delaware, passed away peacefully on February 18, 2024.

Society Update: Vertiflite November/December 2024