Columbia Helicopters, Inc. Boeing 234 N245CH (left) and Boeing Vertol 107 C-FHFW (right) rest on the company pad in Aurora, Oregon.
Columbia Helicopters, Incorporated (CHI) is an aircraft manufacturing and operator company based in Aurora, Oregon, United States. It is known for operating tandem rotor helicopters; in present times, exclusively the Boeing Vertol 107 and Boeing Vertol 234. These helicopters are used in stream restoration and forestry, including heli-logging, aerial firefighting, oil exploration, construction, government support, film production, disaster response, and many other activities. In addition, the company operates a large FAA repair station supporting customers worldwide.
History
Founding and early days
Columbia Helicopters was founded on April 24, 1957, by Wes Lematta with a single Hiller 12B helicopter. With help from his brothers, he supported his young company with many odd jobs, such as carrying Santa Claus to trapeze acts. He performed most of his flying on the weekends while still working as a truck driver during the week.
After purchasing the more powerful Hiller 12E, Lematta began to operate more lift jobs. One of these large jobs was working on the John Day Dam on his company's namesake, the Columbia River. Here Lematta began performing precision lift jobs by using a longer-than-average cable. The concept was that the pilot could lean out the side of the aircraft and see directly where the load would be placed rather than relying on visual instructions from the ground crew or a mirror. A few years later, Wes' brother, Jim, was flying a Sikorsky S-61 in the Colorado Rockies. He was so cold that he was forced to land. Columbia developed the first pilot bubble window to fill the need for an enclosed cockpit.[2][3]
"First in Heli-Logging"
Jack Erickson, of Erickson Air-Crane fame, and Lematta were able to demonstrate the first financially successful run of helicopter logging, or "heli-logging", in 1971. This was done with Lematta's Sikorsky S-61 registration number N318Y on a U.S. Forest Service log sale near Taylorsville, California, in the Plumas National Forest. The following year, the 107s were used.[4] Since the project used Lematta's helicopter and Erickson had purchased the timber, both Columbia Helicopters and Erikson's Air-Crane claim to be the first successful "heli-loggers". Another unusual feat was pulling a hoverbarge on snow, ice, and water in 1982.[2][5]
Type certificates
As of December 15, 2006 Columbia Helicopters had purchased the type certificate of the Model 107[6] and Model 234[7] from Boeing. Currently[when?] the company is seeking FAA issuance of a production certificate (PC) to produce parts, with eventual issuance of a PC to produce both aircraft.
In popular media
Columbia Helicopters' Kawasaki Vertol KV-107 II, painted in a special grey paint scheme, at Fox Field
Columbia Helicopters aircraft have appeared in several motion pictures:
In October 1991, Columbia Helicopters bought four Boeing Vertol 107II-14s from the Swedish Government, formerly operated by the Swedish Air Force as the HKP 4A.
In December 2012, Columbia bought four Boeing Vertol 107II-14s (originally Swedish Air Force HKP 4As, modified from 1988 to 1991 to Swedish Navy standards as HKP 4Ds), two Boeing Vertol 107II-15s (HKP 4Bs), and four Kawasaki KV-107IIA-16s (HKP 4Cs) from the Swedish Government, all ten formerly operated by the Swedish Navy.
In 2014, Columbia bought five US Army Chinooks for utility service, as they are not allowed to carry passengers.[13]
