Helio Aircraft Company
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The Helio Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded in 1948.
History
The Koppen-Bollinger Aircraft Corporation was founded by
Otto Koppen and Lynn Bollinger in Massachusetts in 1948 to develop a light STOL utility aircraft. Initially located at Boston Metropolitan Airport in Canton, Massachusetts,[1] it was renamed the Helio Aircraft Corporation by the time manufacture of the Helio Courier commenced in the early 1950s at a plant in Pittsburg, Kansas.[2] The plant, located at the Atkinson Municipal Airport was acquired by Helio from Mid-States Manufacturing Company in July 1956 and was almost destroyed by a wildfire in March 1966.[3][4] In 1959, the company announced it was moving its factory to Tucson, Arizona.[5]
The business was bought by the
CIA, alleging that the agency had planned to ruin the business through organizing unlicensed production of the Courier.[6][failed verification
]
The production rights were sold by General Aircraft to Helio Aircraft Ltd in 1977.[7] Despite an abortive attempt to restart production, the company remained essentially inactive until 1980.[8][9] The Courier was returned to production, but only 18 aircraft were built.[citation needed] In 1984, the company was forced to lay off 100 workers and the following February it was evicted from its factory.[10][11]
The rights to the Courier and
Stallion were bought and sold a number of times more before being purchased by Helio Aircraft LLC of Prescott, Arizona, which announced plans in 2004 to return both types to production.[citation needed
]
Aircraft
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| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helio Courier | ~500 | Single engine utility airplane | |
Helio H-500 Twin Courier
|
1960 | 7 | Twin engine utility airplane |
Helio HST-550 Stallion
|
1964 | 20 | Single engine utility airplane |
| Helio Rat'ler | 1 | Single engine agricultural airplane |
References
Notes
- ^ Riley, Arthur A. (10 September 1968). "New 'Short Takeoff' Plane Traces Origins to Bay State". Boston Globe. p. 26. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "Helioplane Really Safe". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. 10 July 1949. p. 51. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
They call their plane a helioplane because it combines the advantages of both the present small plane and the helicopter.
- ^ "Helio Purchases Pittsburgh Plant". Parsons Sun. 27 July 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "SEK News". Parsons Sun. 4 March 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ Stirling, Bob (25 March 1959). "'Go Ahead' Signal Flashed by Helio". Tucson Daily Citizen. p. 1. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- ^ "Aircraft Company CIA Spy Cover?". Indianapolis Star. UPI. 29 November 1976. p. 8. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Townsend, Lew (28 March 1983). "Helio Makes Comeback". Wichita Eagle-Beacon. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Helio Aircraft Ready to Start Up Again". Kansas City Star. AP. 16 October 1976. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ Townsend, Lew (31 May 1980). "Design Veteran Builds Payload Increase Into Helio's Courier". Wichita Eagle and Beacon. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Helio Aircraft to Lay Off 100 of Its Workers". Wichita Eagle-Beacon. 16 May 1984. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Company Receives Eviction Notice". Parsons Sun. 13 February 1985. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
Bibliography
- Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
- Hazeltine, Bill; Mirer, Frank (December 1971). "The CIA and the Professors". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- Simpson, R. W. (1995). Airlife's General Aviation. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing.
External links
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