The Helio Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded in 1948.
41-735: 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 , 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 . The plant, located at
82-423: A crew of three: a pilot, a copilot, and a stewardess, as well as eight or nine passengers . The later 5-AT had more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. All models had an aluminum corrugated sheet-metal body and wings. Unlike many aircraft of this era, extending through World War II , its control surfaces ( ailerons , elevators , and rudders ) were not fabric covered, but were also made of corrugated metal. As
123-511: A design pioneered by Junkers during World War I with the Junkers J.I and used postwar in a series of airliners starting with the Junkers F.13 low-wing monoplane of 1920 of which a number were exported to the US, the Junkers K 16 high-wing airliner of 1921, and the Junkers G 24 trimotor of 1924. All of these were constructed of aluminum alloy , which was corrugated for added stiffness, although
164-821: A hop across the continent ending at Waynoka, Oklahoma , where another train would take the passengers to Clovis, New Mexico , where the final journey would begin, again on a Trimotor, to end up at the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale , a few miles northeast of Los Angeles . This demanding trip would be available for only a year before Transcontinental was merged into a combine with Western Air Service. Ford Trimotors were also used extensively by Pan American Airways , for its first international scheduled flights from Key West to Havana , Cuba , in 1927. Eventually, Pan American extended service from North America and Cuba into Central and South America in
205-581: A need for a universal flight trainer more advanced than the analog Link Trainer . What started as the development of the Aircraft Stability and Control Analyzer (ASCA) for the Navy became "Project Whirlwind" . Headed by Captain Luis deFlorez , Otto Koppen, John R. Markham, and Joseph Bicknell put together the requirements for a simulator that factored in winds and aerodynamic forces. The byproduct that
246-541: A paper called "SMART AIRPLANES FOR DUMB PILOTS". In 1939, a student brought a model of the new Curtiss XSB2C-1 to the MIT wind tunnel. Koppen was quoted as saying, "if they build more than one of these, they are crazy". He was referencing controlability issues with the small vertical tail. The eventual production aircraft did have issues, and needed over 880 modifications before entering combat in WWII. In 1944 America recognized
287-528: A short wing, with leading edge slats, with high lift and STOL capabilities. Greater Boston Metropolitan Airport fixed-base operator, E.W. Wiggins Airways converted the Piper PA-17 Vagabond with volunteer assistance to make the 2-place Helio No.1. Koppen also served as test pilot. This aircraft was the basis for the Helio Courier series of aircraft. The Helio Aircraft Corporation was formed in 1950 after merging with Midwest Aircraft Corporation,
328-458: A specially modified Lockheed Electra along with fellow movie flyer, Garland Lincoln, flying a stripped-down Trimotor donated by the president of Superior Oil Company. With 1,800 gallons of avgas and 450 gallons of oil in the modified cabin, the Trimotor was intended to act as a "tanker" for the expedition. The Electra was able to transfer fuel in the air from the Trimotor, through a hose cast out
369-576: A tilted gyroscope that sensed roll and yaw, to provide input to the autopilot. After his formal NACA report was published, his ability to file for a patent was nullified. In 1991 EAA Chapter 159 from Midland, Michigan , donated a replica Ford Flivver to the EAA Airventure Museum . The replica was built from careful inspection of the original prototype and advice from Otto C. Koppen. He lived in Osterville, Massachusetts . He won
410-598: Is now McDonnell Douglas ). Koppen, along with Harold Hicks and Tom Towle, are credited with refining the Stout -designed Ford 3-AT into the well known Ford Trimotor . In 1926, Koppen designed the Ford Flivver . As the first criterion for the design was that it had to fit in an office, his first task was measuring the dimensions of Ford's office. Koppen designed the Fairchild FT-1 in 1929. The aircraft
451-707: 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. In 1959, the company announced it was moving its factory to Tucson, Arizona . The business was bought by the General Aircraft Corporation in 1969, was renamed Helio Aircraft Company and continued production until 1974, when General Aircraft commenced legal proceedings against
SECTION 10
#1732793947431492-605: The Boeing 247 (1933) or the Douglas DC-2 (1934), then DC-3, was the carrying of heavy freight to mining operations in jungles and mountains. The Trimotor was employed for decades in this role. In 1942, during the Battle of Bataan , a Trimotor was used in evacuations. The aircraft would haul 24 people nearly 500 miles a trip, twice daily. The aircraft was eventually strafed and destroyed by Japanese aircraft. In postwar years,
533-502: The CIA , alleging that the agency had planned to ruin the business through organizing unlicensed production of the Courier. The production rights were sold by General Aircraft to Helio Aircraft Ltd in 1977. Despite an abortive attempt to restart production, the company remained essentially inactive until 1980. The Courier was returned to production, but only 18 aircraft were built. In 1984,
574-524: The Canadian Rockies . After damage on landing in 1936, it was grounded and remained for decades at Carcross, Yukon . In 1956, the wreck was salvaged and preserved, and in the mid-1980s, Greg Herrick took over C-1077 and began restoring it. As of 2006, C-1077 is in flying condition again, restored to its December 1927 appearance. On November 27 and 28, 1929, Commander Richard E. Byrd (navigator), chief pilot Bernt Balchen , and two other crewmen,
615-606: The General Skyfarer . Using just ailerons and elevators for directional control. 17 were built. The aircraft was later licensed as the Mars M1-80 Skycoupe, but did not go into production. In 1949, Koppen, and Lynn Bollinger formed the Helio Corporation of Massachusetts. They developed a "helioplane" prototype for a cost of 6000 dollars that was built based on a modified Piper Vagabond with
656-719: The civil aviation market, but also saw service with military units. In the early 1920s, Henry Ford , along with a group of 19 others including his son Edsel , invested in the Stout Metal Airplane Company . Stout, a bold and imaginative salesman, sent a mimeographed form letter to leading manufacturers, blithely asking for $ 1,000 with the line, "For your one thousand dollars you will get one definite promise: You will never get your money back" to convince them. Stout raised $ 20,000, including $ 1,000 each from Edsel and Henry Ford. In 1925, Ford bought Stout and its aircraft designs. The single-engined Stout monoplane
697-466: The 1957 Godfrey L. Cabot Award . Otto Koppen died at the age of 90. Other pioneers of aircraft stability and control Ford 3-AT The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose" ) is an American three-engined transport aircraft . Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It was designed for
738-431: The 4-AT's door. With the first aerial refueling test successful, the pair of pilots set out for Fairbanks, landing first at Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory, Canada, on August 15, 1937, but the Trimotor ran out of fuel and crashed in inclement weather the following day. The Trimotor was abandoned on the tundra. One of the major uses of the Trimotor after it was superseded as a passenger aircraft by more modern aircraft like
779-573: The Ford Trimotor in an attempt to produce new examples. A new company formed from this effort brought back two modern examples of the trimotor aircraft, renamed the Stout Bushmaster 2000 , but even with improvements that had been incorporated, performance was judged inferior to modern designs. Production ran from 1926 and 1933 and 199 were built, including 79 4-ATs, and 117 5-ATs, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of
820-636: The Ford Trimotors continued in limited service with small, regional air carriers. Scenic Airways Ford Trimotor N414H was used for 65 years as a sightseeing aircraft flying over the Grand Canyon. As of 2011, there are 18 Ford Trimotors in existence, eight of which have current FAA airworthiness certificates . From 1954 onwards, efforts were made to modernize the Trimotor as the Stout Bushmaster 2000 . Saddled with financial, management and marketing problems, only two examples were completed with
861-703: The Trimotor could be easily adapted for hauling cargo, since its seats in the fuselage could be removed. To increase cargo capacity, one unusual feature was the provision of "drop-down" cargo holds below the lower inner wing sections of the 5-AT version. One 4-AT with Wright J-4 200-hp engines was built for the U.S. Army Air Corps as the C-3 , and seven with Wright R-790-3 (235 hp) as C-3As . The latter were upgraded to Wright R-975-1 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignated C-9 . Five 5-ATs were built as C-4s or C-4As . The original (commercial production) 4-AT had three air-cooled Wright radial engines. It carried
SECTION 20
#1732793947431902-459: The Trimotors continued to fly into the 1960s, with numerous examples being converted into cargo transports to further lengthen their careers, and when World War II began, the commercial versions were soon modified for military applications. Some of the significant flights made by the Ford Trimotor in this period greatly enhanced the reputation of the type for strength and reliability. One example
943-681: The age of eighty. At one point Koppen was the oldest instrument rated pilot in America. Koppen is regarded as providing the basis for most stability and control research since the 1930s. After a fire at the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company , which destroyed the Ford 3-AT Trimotor prototype, Tom Towle hired MIT graduate Otto Koppen, John Lee, and James Smith McDonnell (co-founder of what
984-580: The company produced a variety of types for the Navy. The prototype aircraft "Helio-1" has been donated the National Air and Space Museum in 1963. Following the death of his daughter in an airplane crash in November 1950, Koppen took a two year break in teaching. Koppen developed a simplified autopilot that could be affordable enough to be used by general aviation aircraft. The bang-bang, or discontinuous, control device featured an innovative use of
1025-506: The company was forced to lay off 100 workers and the following February it was evicted from its factory. 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. This United States manufacturing company–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Otto Koppen Otto C. Koppen (1901 – 1991)
1066-536: The copilot and the photographer, made the first flight above the geographic South Pole in a Ford Trimotor that Byrd named the Floyd Bennett . This was one of three aircraft taken on this polar expedition, with the other two being named The Stars and Stripes and The Virginian , replacing the Fokker Trimotors that Byrd previously used. A Ford Trimotor was used for the flight of Elm Farm Ollie ,
1107-449: The death of his personal pilot, Harry J. Brooks , on a test flight, led to Henry Ford's losing interest in aviation. While Ford did not make a profit on its aircraft business, Henry Ford's reputation lent credibility to the infant aviation and airline industries, and Ford helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways , passenger terminals , hangars , airmail , and radio navigation . In
1148-461: The era). The combination of a metal structure and simple systems led to their reputation for ruggedness. Rudimentary service could be accomplished "in the field" with ground crews able to work on engines using scaffolding and platforms. To fly into otherwise-inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis or floats. The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Boeing 247 first flew at start of 1933), along with
1189-553: The first cow to fly in an aircraft and to be milked mid-flight. Franklin Roosevelt flew aboard a Ford Trimotor in 1932 during his presidential campaign in one of the first uses of an aircraft in an election, replacing the traditional "whistle stop" train trips. A Ford Trimotor was used in a search for the lost flyers of the Sigizmund Levanevsky trans-polar flight in 1937. Movie stunt flyer Jimmie Mattern flew
1230-617: The largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world was built at the Willow Run , Michigan plant, where Ford produced thousands of B-24 Liberator bombers under license from Consolidated Aircraft . William Stout left the Metal Airplane division of the Ford Motor Company in 1930. He continued to operate the Stout Engineering Laboratory, producing various aircraft. In 1954, Stout purchased the rights to
1271-621: The late 1920s and early 1930s. One of Latin America's earliest airlines, Cubana de Aviación , was the first to use the Ford Trimotor in Latin America, starting in 1930, for its domestic services. The heyday for Ford's transport was relatively brief, lasting only until 1933, when more modern airliners began to appear. Rather than completely disappearing, the Trimotors gained an enviable reputation for durability with Ford ads in 1929 proclaiming, "No Ford plane has yet worn out in service." First being relegated to second- and third-tier airlines,
Helio Aircraft Company - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-477: The late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the "largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world." Alongside the Ford Trimotor, a new single-seat commuter aircraft, the Ford Flivver or "Sky Flivver" had been designed and flown in prototype form, but never entered series production. The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During World War II,
1353-466: The resulting drag reduced its overall performance. So similar were the designs that Junkers sued and won when Ford attempted to export an aircraft to Europe. In 1930, Ford countersued in Prague , and despite the possibility of anti-German sentiment, was decisively defeated a second time, with the court finding that Ford had infringed upon Junkers' patents. Although designed primarily for passenger use,
1394-406: The world flew the Ford Trimotor. From mid-1927, the type was also flown on executive transportation duties by several commercial nonairline operators, including oil and manufacturing companies. The impact of the Ford Trimotor on commercial aviation was immediate, as the design represented a "quantum leap over other airliners." Within a few months of its introduction, Transcontinental Air Transport
1435-603: Was Ford 4-AT Trimotor serial number 10, built in 1927. It flew in the United States and Mexico under registration number C-1077, and for several years in Canada under registration G-CARC. It had many notable accomplishments; it was flown by Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart , among many others. It made the first commercial flight from the United States to Mexico City , as well as the first commercial flight over
1476-534: Was an American aircraft engineer. Otto Koppen graduated with a Bachelor of Science from MIT in 1924. Koppen was the professor emeritus of aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . In 1929 Koppen returned to teach stability and control at MIT, where he remained until his retirement in 1965. As part of the course, Koppen took students up in a Fairchild 24 to demonstrate stability principles. In 1936, Koppen published
1517-465: Was common for the time, its rudder and elevators were actuated by metal cables that were strung along the external surface of the aircraft. Engine gauges were also mounted externally, on the engines, to be read by the pilot while looking through the aircraft windshield. Another interesting feature was the use of the hand-operated " Johnny brake ." Like Ford cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for
1558-541: Was created to provide coast-to-coast operation, capitalizing on the Trimotor's ability to provide reliable and, for the time, comfortable passenger service. While advertised as a transcontinental service, the airline had to rely on rail connections with a deluxe Pullman train that would be based in New York being the first part of the journey. Passengers then met a Trimotor in Port Columbus, Ohio , that would begin
1599-476: Was developed to compute the data was one of America's first high-speed, prototypical, digital computer. Koppen took a two-year break from teaching after the loss of his daughter in a flight accident involving loss of control in low visibility conditions. Koppen promised his wife never to fly again afterward, but restarted after her death. Koppen flew a Grumman Yankee and experimented with wing-leveling and other controls. Koppen acquired his FAA instrument rating at
1640-600: Was the model for the Fairchild Model 21 , a two-seat low-wing aircraft that bore a similarity to the Ford Flivver. Production was halted during the depression. In 1943 Koppen was brought on as an engineer to help design larger cargo aircraft for the Franklin Institute for 20,000 dollars a year. He was a designer for General Aircraft Corporation . Koppen designed an early two-control aircraft,
1681-597: Was turned into a trimotor , the Stout 3-AT with three Curtiss-Wright air-cooled radial engines. After a prototype was built and test-flown with poor results, the "4-AT" and "5-AT" emerged. The Ford Trimotor using all-metal construction was not a revolutionary concept, but it was certainly more advanced than the standard construction techniques of the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the Fokker F.VII Trimotor (except for being all metal which Henry Ford claimed made it "the safest airliner around"). Its fuselage and wings followed