The Story of Oregon Aero

The Story of Oregon Aero, Inc.

In some ways, the story of Oregon Aero, Inc. began in 1989 because of a headache — a headache that Jude Dennis (Oregon Aero vice president) experienced whenever she flew with husband Mike Dennis (Oregon Aero founder, president and CEO).

MAKING AND TESTING - Mike Dennis  in his den,1990, makes  SoftTop®  Headset Cushions and tests a newly designed ear seal, which became the Oregon Aero® SoftSeal® Ear Cushions.

Mike set out to tackle Jude’s headache problem. After a great deal of research, thinking, and experimentation, he created the SoftTop® Headset Cushion from leather and sheepskin wool.

The SoftTop® Headset Cushion worked. Jude’s headaches disappeared, and Mike and Jude began selling the Cushions at local fly-ins.

Customer feedback was positive, and Mike continued to improve the SoftTop® Headset Cushion and add custom designs for various headset models. Dozens of Headset Cushions were piled high on the kitchen table as they were sewn by hand; bolts of leather and other materials filled the garage.

From this beginning grew a company which today is the leader in engineering and manufacturing advanced seating systems for aviation and other industries. The company also offers a broad range of additional products and holds dozens of patents.

Even so, the focus remains on the same issues addressed in 1989 with the SoftTop® Headset Cushion — making the interface between the human body and manufactured hardware pain-free, safer and quieter.

LOVE OF EXPERIMENTATION - Ronald Young experimented with various outboard designs reversing the traditional tumblehome of the outboard, allowing the lines to flare outward along the sheer. He also tinkered with an inboard well for outboard power, building the well adjacent to the keel. This love of experimentation and looking at designs in a different way has carried through to Mike Dennis and Oregon Aero.

In some ways, it started with a headache.
But it goes back further than that.

But even so, the beginning of the story goes back much further than 1989.

In designing products and leading Oregon Aero, Mike Dennis does what he has always loved to do — solve problems by thinking about them in new ways.

“Most of the time when we solve a problem, it’s because we’ve turned the problem upside down and not accepted traditional assumptions,” says Mike. That way of thinking led to the development of pain-free, safer seating and headgear and the hundreds of other products he’s designed.

Mike always has been fascinated with airplanes, boats and machines. He comes by his fascination and design skills honestly. His maternal grandfather, Ronald Young of Poulsbo, Washington, designed and built the first automobile ever to appear on the Kitsap Peninsula, around 1914. Ronald Young also designed and built boats by hand, notably the beautiful wooden Poulsbo boat from 1918-1965. Poulsbo boat owners still treasure their craft, which can be found in the waters of the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere.

STARTING YOUNG - Mike Dennis was always fascinated with planes, boats, and machines. In his front yard with model airplanes at age 16 when this photo was taken, Mike already was taking flying lessons.	THE POULSBO BOAT - Ronald Young, Mike Dennis’ grandfather, prepares to deliver two unpainted Poulsbo outboard skiffs, around 1950. Young designed and built these craft by hand, many of which can still be found in the waters of the Pacific Northwest.

A teacher, preacher, counselor and speech therapist, Jim Dennis designed hearing aids and worked to improve the design and communications systems of aviation helmets.

Mike’s dad, Jim Dennis, practiced a number of professions; he was a teacher, preacher and counselor. But Jim Dennis also was an educated speech and hearing therapist, and here’s where his genetic links to Oregon Aero grow even more interesting.

Jim Dennis designed hearing aids and worked on other projects related to hearing, including aviation helmet ear seals, ear cups and communications systems. Unfortunately, Jim Dennis passed away at age 50 without completing this work.

“When the thought hits me that I’m following through on work my dad began, it’s pretty amazing,” notes Mike. “But surprisingly, when I began developing headset and helmet upgrades, I didn’t remember he’d worked on aviation helmets. I did remember being ten years old and wearing those helmets to ‘fly’ around the neighborhood on my bike — I was obsessed with flying airplanes. It was later, after talking with my mother, that I understood better what my dad was doing with the helmets.”

Mike remembers a saying his dad liked to recite during his teaching and preaching days: “The brain can perform only as long as the butt can endure.” The saying strikes quite a note of irony, considering Oregon Aero’s success in designing painless seating! By eliminating pain, Oregon Aero® Seats and Seat Cushion Systems enable people to focus on the job at hand, and more than one person has thanked Oregon Aero for “saving my butt!”

At 19, Mike earned his private pilot’s license and soon after his Airframe and Powerplant license, achieving his childhood dream. Little did Mike know his love of flying (and solving problems) would take him on an even grander journey — to create and lead a company which offers innovative, breakthrough products to people around the world.

What Mike did over the years was follow his own way of thinking. “I don’t like being told ‘no’ or ‘it can’t be done’ or ‘it’s impossible.’ Everything is possible,” says Mike. “It’s a matter of persevering and being willing to look at solving problems in new ways.”

An additional attribute accompanies this confidence and leadership: listening. Mike Dennis and Oregon Aero listen to people’s problems and what people need. Consequently, the creation of nearly every Oregon Aero product begins by listening to customers.
 

Oregon Aero exists in part because of my good buddy, Irv Allen. He gave me my first flying lesson in 1962 when I was 13 and continued to teach me to my private in 1969. He was a huge influence on me and helped my dream of flying become a reality. (I also worked under Irv to qualify for my A&P rating.) Even today, Irv is still teaching me — about life as well as flying. Thanks, Irv! — Mike Dennis

Mike acknowledges that he’s always thinking about whatever problems have grabbed his attention and as a result, Oregon Aero never fails to have multiple new products in development. And while the company began by solving problems in aviation, today Oregon Aero works with many industries and the military, creating products that improve people’s lives and job performance.

The history and growth of Oregon Aero are a story of breakthrough thinking, perseverance, listening, and deriving satisfaction from helping people, along with a hearty tip of the hat to genetic predisposition.

What may come next in the Oregon Aero story? Mike’s not worried. Says the Oregon Aero founder, “There always will be problems to solve — always.”