Robert Lichten, then an employee of Kellet Aircraft, was one of the founders of the Transcendental Company. He designed the Model 1-G with Mario Guerrieri, another former employee of Kellet. Lichten left in Transcendental 1948 and went to work for Bell Aircraft in Buffalo, transferring to the helicopter division in Texas in 1952. At BH, he and Ken Wernicke were the designers of the XV-3, which led to the XV-15, which led to the V-22, BA609 (now the AW609) and V-280. He was also responsible for the design of all initial development versions of the UH-1 and of the JetRanger helicopters at Bell. Lichten was killed in a car crash in 1971 and a American Helicopter Society award is given annually in his name.