Ronald John Yates
Ronald John Yates (1923 - 2012)
Ronald Yates was born at Paddington NSW, on 17 September 1923. He attended Marist Brothers, Darlinghurst and the University of Sydney, gaining a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering degree in 1944, followed by postgraduate study in aircraft metal fatigue at UCLA in 1953.
During RAAF service as a Flying Officer from 1943 to 1946 he flight-tested the Mosquito and the Wackett Woomera, and for Qantas, while still in the RAAF, he tested the Liberator, Lancastrian and Catalina before joining the company as Operations Manager in 1946, and in 1947 moved to the airline's Engineering and Maintenance Base. He worked in conjunction with the major aircraft manufacturers which supplied Qantas, beginning in 1952 with appointment as Qantas' resident Engineer at the Lockheed plant in Burbank, California.
Two years later returned to Australia for further evaluation work - this time on jet and prop-jet equipment. He was involved in Qantas’ decision to purchase the Boeing 707, making Qantas the first foreign customer for what, at that time, was a revolutionary new passenger transport plane. In 1956 he went back to the US to establish the Qantas technical liaison office at the Boeing plant in Seattle. Yates returned to Australia in 1957, and became Chief Project Engineer and, in February 1958, Boeing Project Controller, supervising the introduction of the Boeing jet to Qantas' worldwide operations. This was followed by another tour of duty in the US as Manager Technical Services from 1959 to 1963.
On return to Sydney, he became Assistant Chief Engineer, and was appointed Deputy Engineering Manager in 1966, Director of Technical Services in 1967, and Director of Engineering and Maintenance in 1971. During these years, he was primarily responsible for the major development of the Qantas Jet Base at Mascot and the introduction of the Boeing 747.
Yates was appointed Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer in 1976, responsible for the direction and control of the major branches of Engineering and Maintenance, Flight Operations, Cabin Crew, Airports, Flight Catering and Information Services.
He was appointed Deputy Chief Executive in 1982, responsible for the over-all day-to-day control and direction of the Company, and retired as Chief Executive on 30 June 1986 but continued association with the Company as a technical consultant until September 1993.
On retirement from Qantas, he was appointed by the Government as a founding director of the new Federal Airports Corporation. He served for three years as Deputy Chairman and was much involved in turning a public service operation into a viable commercially oriented corporation. Following this task Yates was appointed to the board of the Civil Aviation Authority in June 1990 to strengthen the technical support to the newly appointed Chairman, Dick Smith.
Well-known in international circles, Yates has travelled extensively overseas and dealt with a great number of engineering companies during his career. During the early years at Qantas, he lived and worked with manufacturers in the United States for seven years.
He was elected Vice President, Australasia, of the Executive Council of the International Federation of Airworthiness, a body representing 125 airlines, civil aviation authorities and manufacturers with a secretariat at Gatwick, London.
He co-chaired the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics annual conference at Los Angeles in February 1991, and co-chaired the Flight Safety Foundation and International Federation of Airworthiness first joint annual conference at Long Beach, California in November 1992.
In November 1995, he was appointed Chairman of The Preston Group Pty Ltd, a Melbourne based company noted for its software development and support to international airport authorities and airlines, and in July 1993, joined the board of Tower Technology Pty Ltd, as Chairman. This company was involved in technological advances in imaging systems for document handling in Australia and overseas.
He was an Honorary Fellow of The Institution of Engineers, Australia, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, and a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ron Yates held many roles on boards and committees of diverse organisations including:
From 1975 to1985 he was chairman of the Visiting Committee of the University of NSW Faculty of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering.
From 1985 to 1986 he was President of the Orient Airlines Association.
From 1985 to 1986 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Air Transport Association.
From 1985 to 1986 he was a member of the Strategic Planning Sub-Committee of the International Air Transport Association.
From 1985 to 1986 he was a member of the Australian Tourism Advisory Council.
From 1993 he was Vice President of Lane Cove Community Aid.
From 1983 to 1985 de was a director of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
From 1980 to 1982 a director of Qantas Wentworth Holdings Ltd.
From 1978 to 1980 a commissioner National Airline Commission of Papua New Guinea.
From 1981 to 1986 a director of Qantair Ltd.
From 1981 to 1986 a director Wentworth Hotel Limited.
Ronald Yates was married to Pat, and they had four children – Chris, Peter, Robert and Cathy. He was made a member of the Order of Australia in June 1983 for service to the aviation industry,
Ronald Yates died in October 2012.
To access an oral history interview with Ronald John Yates please use this link:
https://heritage.engineersaustralia.org.au/wiki/Oral_Histories_Sydney
