My boyfriend designs helicopters for a living at Robinson Helicopter Company in Torrance, CA. He's super smart, to the point that it can be annoying - chess games are absolutely no fun - it's checkmate in five moves. While surfers (and probably most other sporting type people) are living in the moment, seeing what's right in front of them or a few seconds ahead, my boyfriend can visualize a whole series of events and all the branching possibilities all at once. It makes him a good chess player and a great engineer. He has spent the last couple years as one of the lead designers on a new 5-seater helicopter called the R-66, which is finally almost complete. So, last weekend, we took a trip to Anaheim to the Helicopter Association Convention.

Frank Robinson, the owner of Robinson Helicopter. This guy is like a god to helicopter fans.

I've been to a bunch of trade shows so I sort of knew what to expect. I asked if they'd start wheeling out free kegs of beer at 4pm like they do at the surf shows. "Um... no," he said. I've also been to a scuba diving trade show and I would say the helicopter show was a bit more like that, except at least half the attendees were wearing business suits and walked around with an attitude of "i have a lot of money". It was interesting to check out all the helicopters at the different booths, although not as fun as checking out surfboards.

The next day there was a reception at the Robinson offices where the R-66 was on display and flying demonstrations. Fortunately, there was plenty of free beer, and everything was more relaxed. Still, I definitely prefer the surf industry events!

Having a chat with the founder, owner, and helicopter industry legend, Frank Robinson.