By Joanna Boatwright — International Trade Specialist, Washington State Dept of Commerce

A conversation with Robert Lind of TLG Aerospace, on the collaboration that fuels industry innovation: The Washington State aerospace industry has a long history of innovation. A tour of the Museum of Flight Red Barn shows what Bill Boeing did to adapt wooden boatbuilding production methods to the aircraft assembly line.

That innovation came directly from collaboration with local shipwrights.

Over a century later, this same culture of collaboration and its natural pathway to innovation is what attracted Robert Lind to aerospace.

“I originally moved to Seattle as a musician – I played bass guitar in local bands and loved it,” Robert said with a laugh. “When it was time to move on, I wanted to live and work in the Pacific Northwest and was drawn to aerospace. The industry was always doing something new in the air and that inspired me.”

With that in mind, Robert stayed close to home for schooling. He attended the University of Washington, graduating with an aeronautical engineering master’s degree in 1992.

“After I finished school, I started work at small firm in Arlington, where we did flight test support, wind tunnel, airplane modification and certification. A lot of small airplane flight testing. All the collaboration and joint work with another local firm transitioned me to higher-speed aerodynamics and eventually a new job.”

There was a steady drumbeat – loads, dynamics, flutter – from simple output to integrated systems tests. Robert’s work had him joining forces with other companies, collaborating on an array of projects. He remembered one project where they added weight capability to a small cargo aircraft, loading and unloading over 8,000 pounds of flight test ballast every week over one summer.

“It was easier to do that kind of a project when I was younger.”

Back then, to offer the kinds of capabilities needed by the burgeoning small jet industry, Robert remembers independent companies needed to concentrate on projects that were within their (and their partner’s) capabilities. Many of the complicated safety and performance analysis needed to develop and certify major structural or aerodynamic changes were not available outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) environment. There were no independent companies able to perform them.

“Compared to today, there were a lot of limitations of what you could do without OEM support. You could not do a lot of structural dynamics modification work, for example. It required OEM data and resources beyond what small or mid-size companies could offer, independently. We were limited to smaller modifications. We had this whole group of people working up to the limits of both our technology and finances.”

Robert’s firm began collaborating with a company where Steve Muenzberg worked. Their joint projects helped them discover an emerging opportunity in the industry. There was a need to provide engineering in the areas of loads, dynamics and flutter, combining structural dynamics with aerodynamics to design and test aircraft.

“Steve and his wife, Lynnette, were considering how to bring their skills together to form their own company, and TLG emerged.” Robert is proud of being the number-three person on board – after Steve and Lynnette – at TLG Aerospace. Arguably, he is their first employee. Either way, he’s eager to share that he’s only had three “jobs” in his life. Next to playing bass, this one is his favorite.

“When TLG was formed, we gave ourselves a generic name that allowed us to not-say-no to the customer. From then to now, our goal is to be nimble, collaborate and adapt whenever possible. There are so many companies doing all sorts of cool things that we can help with, and that’s been true since my earliest experiences in this industry.”

“Technology advancements have enabled us to do effective aerodynamic calculations at a higher level for a lower price than before. Independent third-party companies, like ours, are now computing with enough memory and speed. That was a very expensive proposition thirty years ago. What used to only be available through OEMs is now OEM-agnostic because it’s scalable and affordable.“

That’s also how TLG has adapted and evolved its service mix. “We didn’t specifically plan to get into structural design and stress analysis but would partner with other companies. Gradually customers asked us if we could add that capability, so we did. Now it is a large and important part of our offering.”

Even better, it’s definitely not your typical office job. “Mostly, we work in an office environment,” Robert explained. “But we also work with customers that make aircraft products. We get to go out to an airplane hangar, kick the tires and touch the wings. That’s just cool work.”

Over the years, Robert also picked up his bass guitar and started playing music again. About once a month you can see him playing original music with Dragontail Peak at venues around Puget Sound.

“It used to be that if people found out you played in a band; you weren’t taken seriously on the job.” What Robert alludes to is the now-regarded connection between business innovation and the collaboration and creativity that comes from being part of a musical group.

“Back then, the industry was also more defined in other areas. For example, it was understood that we had to choose one specific aspect of our field – say, aerospace or space – to set the course of our entire career.” That focus has changed dramatically over the past thirty years.

“Now, there’s plenty more opportunity. Recently, I was inspired by the work of building a helicopter that flies on Mars. We can do that, now.”

Robert is referring to the collaborative work between Arlington-based, AeroVironment, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design and build helicopters for Mars.

“Now, TLG supports an array of products and companies, whether they are underwater, on the water, in the air, or on another planet. We can analyze an array of atmospheres.”

That is innovative and collaborative work in action for the aerospace and space industries.

“I’d like to think that what sets TLG apart, and our industry peers in Washington, is our commitment to help people who are making actual products. Our work, along with those we collaborate with, is to help companies with the products they are building, selling and using. If we’re successful, they are too.”

Learn more

Meet Washington aerospace leaders, like Robert Lind and TLG, by joining Commerce at an upcoming industry trade show. Email me to talk about the opportunities to expand export sales. We are here to help you.

Want to know more? For a deeper dive and to connect with us, visit ChooseWashingtonState.com