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Koppen-Bollinger Aircraft Corporation · Helio Aircraft Corporation · Helio Aircraft Company

Two Boston academics built an aeroplane that could take off across a runway and fly under control at 27 mph; the CIA loved it so much that the company later sued the agency for trying to ruin it.

1948設立
1985年廃止状態
6記録に残っている航空機
2その機種を運用する空軍
Photo: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
国アメリカ合衆国設立1948創業者Otto C. Koppen, Lynn Bollinger本部Pittsburg, Kansas状態1985年廃止
その物語

Helio Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name

Smart airplanes for dumb pilots

Otto Koppen taught stability and control at MIT, and in 1936 he wrote a paper called Smart Airplanes for Dumb Pilots. In 1948 he and Lynn Bollinger set out to build one. Their demonstrator, a rebuilt Piper Vagabond with full-span slats and big flaps, first flew from Boston Metropolitan Airport on 8 April 1949. The production Helio Courier, certified in July 1954, had automatic slats and could stay under control at about 27 mph. At air shows it took off across the runway rather than along it.

The Courier and the secret war

About 500 Couriers were built in Pittsburg, Kansas, between 1954 and 1974. In 1957 a Strato Courier set an altitude record of 31,200 ft over Mexico City. The military Super Courier, the U-10, served with the US Air Force, Army Special Forces and Air America in Vietnam; over 120 were built. Seven Twin Couriers went to the CIA under the cover designation U-5, and 20 turboprop AU-24 Stallion mini-gunships were built, most ending up with the Khmer Air Force.

Lawsuits and revivals

General Aircraft bought Helio in 1969, and in 1974 it went to court claiming the CIA had planned to ruin the business by arranging unlicensed production of the Courier. A revival by Helio Aircraft Ltd built just 18 more aircraft before it was evicted from its factory in February 1985. The rights changed hands several times; since 2019 Helio Alaska has held the type certificate and tooling. Missionary and bush pilots still prize the Courier’s short-field performance.

Two Boston academics built an aeroplane that could take off across a runway and fly under control at 27 mph; the CIA loved it so much that the company later sued the agency for trying to ruin it.Helio Aircraft · verified 2026-10-03
一目でわかる

Helio Aircraft in numbers

会社

要するに
Founded 1948

  • Founded as Koppen-Bollinger Aircraft Corporation in Massachusetts
  • Production plant at Pittsburg, Kansas
  • Bought by General Aircraft Corporation, 1969
  • Last production ended 1985

生産

最もよく知られているのは
ヘリオ・クーリエ

  • About 500 Couriers built, 1954–1974
  • U-10 Super Courier: over 120 for the US military
  • AU-24 Stallion gunship: 20 built
  • 18 H-700/H-800 built in the 1980s revival

今日

今
Defunct; type revived by Helio Alaska

  • Helio Alaska holds the Courier type certificate since 2019
  • Couriers still flown by bush and missionary pilots

数字

Couriers built
約5001954–1974
Minimum control speed
about 27–28 mph
U-10 for US forces
over 120
航空機

Every notable Helio Aircraft aircraft

航空機 役割 初飛行 建設済み 状態 注記
Helioplane No. 1 STOL demonstrator 1949 1 退職 Converted Piper PA-17 Vagabond; donated to the Smithsonian in 1963
Helio Courier (H-391B and later) STOL utility aircraft 約500 使用中 Certified July 1954; automatic leading-edge slats
Helio U-10 Super Courier Military STOL liaison and special operations over 120 退職 USAF, Army Special Forces, Air America
Helio H-500 Twin Courier (U-5) Twin-engine STOL aircraft 7 退職 Delivered to the CIA
Helio AU-24 Stallion Turboprop utility and gunship 1964 20 退職 Most went to the Khmer Air Force in 1972
Helio H-700 / H-800 Courier STOL utility aircraft 18 退職 Direct-drive engines and winglets
誰がそれらを飛ばすのか

Helio Aircraft aircraft in the world’s air forces

2 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Helio Aircraft types. そのうち、現在も運用されているものはゼロです。.

空軍 使用中 以前は飛行していた
ガイアナ国防軍航空隊 ヘリオ・クーリエ
カンボジア王国空軍 ヘリオ AU-24A スタリオン
場所、人物、記録

Where Helio Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved

工場

  • Boston Metropolitan Airport · Canton, Massachusetts — First home of the company
  • Atkinson Municipal Airport plant · Pittsburg, Kansas — Acquired July 1956; nearly destroyed by wildfire March 1966

人々

  • Otto C. Koppen · co-founder, designer — MIT professor (1901–1991), earlier designed the Ford Flivver
  • Lynn Bollinger · co-founder

記録と初記録

  • Strato Courier altitude record of 31,200 ft over Mexico City, 1957
タイムライン

Helio Aircraft, year by year

1948

Koppen-Bollinger Aircraft Corporation founded

1949

Helioplane No. 1 first flight

1954

Helio Courier certified

1956

Pittsburg, Kansas, plant acquired

1957

Strato Courier altitude record

1964

Stallion prototype first flight

1969

Bought by General Aircraft Corporation

1972

AU-24 Stallions delivered to the Khmer Air Force

1974

Production ends; lawsuit against the CIA

1985

Revived company evicted from its factory

2019

Helio Alaska acquires the type certificate

質疑応答

Everything people ask about Helio Aircraft

What is the Helio Courier famous for?
Extreme short take-off and landing performance: automatic slats and big flaps let it stay under control at about 27 mph and take off in a few lengths.
Did the CIA use the Helio Courier?
Yes. Couriers flew with Air America in Vietnam and seven Twin Couriers went to the CIA under the designation U-5. In 1974 Helio’s owner sued the agency, alleging it had planned to ruin the business.
How many Helio Couriers were built?
About 500 between 1954 and 1974, plus 18 more in the early 1980s.
Who designed the Helio Courier?
MIT professor Otto C. Koppen, who founded the company with Lynn Bollinger in 1948.

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Around Helio Aircraft

アメリカ合衆国ベルアメリカ初のジェット戦闘機と音速の壁を突破した初の航空機を製造したバッファローの企業は、ヘリコプター会社として生まれ変わり、そして…ベルのページを読むアメリカ合衆国セスナカンザス州の農家の少年が裏庭で作った単葉機が、誰よりも多くの飛行機を製造してきた会社へと成長した。その飛行機は、ほとんどのパイロットが訓練を受けるスカイホークから始まり、セスナのページをご覧くださいインデックスすべての航空機メーカー戦闘序列に記載されている空軍で使用された航空機を製造したすべての企業（現行および過去のものを含む）。.リストを開く
出典および参考文献

すべての事実を確認済み

2026年10月3日に確認済み。.