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

Dr. John Leverton

The Vertical Flight Society mourns the passing of Dr. John Leverton, who had been a member of the Society for 40 years, becoming one of its leaders and great supporters. He passed peacefully in July at Pineville, North Carolina.

A respected authority on helicopter acoustics, environmental issues and heliport design, John devoted much of his career to advancing the international vertical flight community. His years of service as part of the Society including work as a board member and environmental advisor earned him recognition as an American Helicopter Society Fellow in 1995.

Born in Devon, UK, John grew up around helicopters flying past the nearby Royal Air Force base. This early inspiration with rotorcraft led him to study aviation at Southampton University’s Institute of Sound and Vibration. During his studies, John became interested in helicopter noise and environmental issues, in part to address concerns in the UK about the impact of aircraft flight noise on British communities. His doctoral thesis at Southampton University in 1977 was entitled “A study of helicopter rotor noise with particular reference to transient effects.” It was the start of a long, groundbreaking research career.

John later began his work with the aviation industry at Westland Helicopters in Somerset, UK. In 1984, he moved to the US and continued his work with Westland in what became a long influential career. In 2000, Westland merged with Italian manufacturer Agusta to form AgustaWestland.

John studied impulsive noise associated with the military Bell UH-1B and Chinook helicopters from both the design and operations perspective. That approach became a significant design aspect when Westland started producing the Westland 30 for civil operations, which was based on its military Lynx helicopter.

John’s research on helicopter noise led to consultant work with companies including Bell Helicopter. He also served in numerous leadership roles with both Helicopter Association International (now the Vertical Aviation International) and the American Helicopter Society (now VFS).

In 2017, HAI awarded John the Bell Lifetime Achievement Award. Accepting the award, John said people should “make sure that everything you do has an element of fun, and do not take too much notice of many in the industry, particular when dealing with domestic and international regulations, who will say their approach is the only one which should be followed.”

“Remember that to get changes in helicopter/heliport regulations; do your homework first, put together a solid technical case and do not simply make a broad-brush statement,” John added in his 2017 award acceptance.

Working to harmonize regulations for heliport design standards over more than 20 years was among his most enduring achievements in the aviation industry. John worked on international noise certification and rules with both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agency. He published papers about topics including helicopter operations and helipad designs, also giving lectures in Australia, Canada, the US, the UK and European nations.

John’s contributions will continue to inspire engineers and researchers across the rotorcraft community. The Society extends its deepest condolences to his wife of 57 years, Valerie, along with their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and his many friends and colleagues worldwide.

Source: Vertiflite, November/December 2026