Former Bell Helicopter chairman James Atkins died on November 17 at the age of 95. Atkins spent his entire professional career at Bell beginning in 1940, was instrumental in its move from Buffalo, N.Y., to Fort Worth and oversaw the development and growth of Bell’s commercial helicopter division. He retired in 1984.

Richard Whittle, author of The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey (Simon & Schuster, 2010) told AIN that it was Atkins who successfully laid the groundwork for the tiltrotor.

“Jim Atkins wasn’t the father of the tiltrotor, but in a sense he was its godfather, and a shrewd marketer for Bell Helicopter. His decision–against the advice of Bell test pilots–to take the experimental XV-15 tiltrotor to the Paris Air Show in 1981 was the key that opened the door to the V-22 Osprey program. When Navy Secretary John Lehman saw the XV-15 fly at Paris, he was smitten by the technology, exactly the reaction Atkins was hoping to achieve,” Whittle said.

Bell’s current CEO, John Garrison, issued the following statement after Atkins’s death: “We are deeply saddened to hear of Jim’s passing. With skilled leadership, he guided Bell Helicopter through some of the company’s most challenging times during its post-war diversification. Without Jim’s guidance and direction, Bell Helicopter would not be the industry leader it is today. We are deeply grateful for his extensive contributions and will miss his support.”

Atkins was born Dec. 4, 1918, in Buffalo, N.Y., and graduated from Canisius College while working in the treasury department for Bell. Atkins left Bell to serve in the Army Air Corps in WWII from 1942 to 1945.  He rejoined the company after the war and in 1952 he was promoted to chief accountant of Bell’s new helicopter division. Over the next 30 years he held a succession of titles, among them controller, secretary-treasurer and executive vice president, until his appointment as president of Bell and executive vice president of Textron in 1972. Atkins is credited with establishing major international sales and co-production programs at Bell that helped it transition into the commercial helicopter market.

Atkins is survived by his wife and four children. The family suggests memorials to The American Cancer Society or The Wounded Warrior Project.